Thirteenth International Conference on Health, Wellness & Society

Abstract

One must be able to discuss sexual health to promote and educate about it. Sexual abuse, though, is a topic that can hardly be discussed openly within the ultra-orthodox Jewish society. This research on sexual abuse was carried out in Israel in the context of a study day on this subject for ultra-orthodox Jewish students of Social Work, aiming to make it discussable. In an anonymous questionnaire, students conveyed if they knew of a person in their close environment who had experienced sexual abuse or if they had experienced sexual abuse themselves. 174 ultra-orthodox Social Work students (84 women and 90 men) answered the questionnaire. The findings reveal that among the women, 82% knew a close person who had experienced sexual abuse, and 29% reported that they had been abused themselves. Among the men, 60% knew a close person who was sexually abused, and 21% reported that they had been abused themselves. Some students indicated they may know someone sexually abused (women: 3%; men: 12%) and may have experienced abuse themselves (women: 18%; men: 21%). Using logistic regression, the odds of reporting being sexually abused increased by 2.9 for women as compared to men [OR=2.9, 95% CI (1.2-7.1), P<0.05] and by 4.0 for those aged 30 and older as compared to those aged 17-24 [OR=4.0, 95% CI (1.2-13.9), P<0.05]. No differences were found based on family status. We discuss these findings in the realm of health promotion and education and provide examples of abuse in ultra-orthodox Jewish society.