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Nov. 27, 2016

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​In a representative sample of the Israeli population, 4.6% of women reported physical violence; 28.6% reported verbal or psychological violence and 26.1% reported social or economic violence   


 
To coincide with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, Friday November 25, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev researchers have revealed the results of a new study of  Violence Against Women in their Reproductive Age and its Effects on Health. 

The study was supported by the Israel Science Foundation (ISF) and led by Dr. Nihaya Daoud and Prof. Ilana Shoham-Vardi of the Department of Public Health at the Faculty of Health Sciences. 

It is the first national study of its kind in Israel to explore violence, its manifestations, and the link between violence and women’s physical and mental health. Violence against women is a serious public health issue with numerous ramifications for women’s physical and mental health and their children. The World Health Organization estimates that one in three women worldwide will be the victim of violence at some point in their lives.

Dr. Daoud: “In Israel, we mostly hear about extreme cases of intimate partner violence (IPV) like murder, but we do not really know at what rate women are on the receiving end of other types of violence (physical, psychological and verbal) at the hands of their intimate partner. We interviewed a representative sample of 1,401 women aged 16-48 during their visit to 72 Well Baby clinics in five districts of the Health Ministry (North, Nazareth, Center, Beer-Sheva and Ashkelon). The women were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Violence was measured by a research tool used to survey violence and included 10 questions about physical violence, psychological or verbal violence and economic or social violence (control) perpetrated by their partners.”

The researchers discovered surprising results: 4.6% of the women reported physical violence; 28.6% reported verbal or psychological violence and 26.1% reported social or economic violence.

Arab women reported more intimate partner violence, of all types, than their Jewish counterparts: Among Arab women 11% reported physical violence; 50% reported psychological or verbal violence and 50% reported social or economic violence. On the other hand, 2% of Jewish women reported physical violence, 19% reported verbal or psychological violence and 16% reported social or economic violence. 

Nevertheless, IPV is a common phenomenon at all sections of society. However, the factors that predicted more reports of IPV were low income families. In addition, among Arab women, higher levels of religiosity and living in urban as opposed to rural localities.  

IPV was associated with a higher prevalence of health problems among all the women and all of the research groups both Arab and Jewish, the researchers found. It was linked to higher rates of postpartum depression, symptoms of depression, anxiety, and other health problems such as miscarriages and premature births. The connection between IPV and health problems was greater among Arab women. 

Despite this, only about half of the women who participated in the study reported that they had been asked in the past whether they had experienced IPV during their visits to the health care system. Arab women reported being asked less than Jewish women (36% as opposed to 58%). In other words, for 65% of Arab women and 42% of Jewish women, the first time they had been asked about IPV was in the course of this study, the researchers said. Likewise, a similar rate of women in the study reported that they had received information in the past about what they could do if they encountered IPV (39% of Arab women and 55% of Jewish women). 

According to the researchers, these findings show that the health system does not conduct universal screening regarding IPV, a situation which must change since women who have been victims of violence first and foremost come to be treated by doctors or nurses at a primary care clinic or a Well Baby (Maternal and Child Health) clinic and they are supposed to be referred to social or psychological services from there.

“We also examined whether social capital in a woman’s neighborhood was a protective factor from IPV and we were surprised to discover that it was not,” say Daoud and Shoham-Vardi. “It turns out, especially among Arab women, all of the social capital and social support measurements were low. Moreover, problems in the neighborhood predicted a high level of IPV. In other words, reducing social or street violence could reduce the rate of IPV.”   

Some of the study’s results will be presented at a conference to be held at Soroka University Medical Center on November 30, 2016 and it has been submitted for publication to different scientific journals.

The United Nations General Assembly has designated November 25 International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Events were held around the world, and in Israel, there were local events in a variety of locations including a march in the Arab sector sponsored by the relevant NGOs. Earlier this week, the Knesset Committee on the Status of Women and Gender Equality presented the Knesset Research and Information Center’s annual report about women’s homicides and complaints filed with the police.
 
 

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