Critical Supports Missing to Address the Needs of Jewish Survivors of Domestic Violence
Research conducted by Jewish Women International proposes national roadmap to better serve survivors and the programs that support them
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 26, 2021
MEDIA CONTACT:
Alyson Malinger, West End Strategy Team
amalinger@westendstrategy.com; 917-935-7311
WASHINGTON – Due to COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, the public health epidemic of domestic violence and the particular needs of survivors and those that support them have garnered new attention. In analyzing the needs of domestic violence survivors in U.S. Jewish communities, a report released by Jewish Women International (JWI) reveals a lack of survivor-centered and trauma-informed supports from the Jewish community at large. JWI’s groundbreaking research provides recommendations for new programs, collaborations, partnerships, and funding priorities to ensure that Jewish survivors can safely remain and thrive in their communities.
According to the research findings in Raising Awareness and Understanding of Domestic Violence in the Jewish Community: A National Needs Assessment, without adequate legal support, safe housing within their community, and means to build long-term economic security, Jewish domestic violence survivors remain vulnerable. While the Jewish community may be providing for critical short-term needs, the research finds, resources for long-term healing and independence are where the community falls short. JWI’s in-depth qualitative interviews and surveys of survivors, clergy, and direct service providers present evidence for why the larger Jewish community should prioritize meeting the challenges of providing robust culturally-specific responses to domestic violence.
***JWI will present the findings of its needs assessment on Tuesday, April 27, at a public online event; details are below, and all are welcome to register to attend.***
“As we are still dealing with the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic, home has served as a place of safety and security for many of us. Yet, for many individuals experiencing domestic violence, home remains dangerous,” said Deborah Rosenbloom, JWI’s Chief Program Officer and lead author of the report. “We have the opportunity to create a new understanding of domestic abuse, drive new support systems that meet the needs of survivors and the advocates who serve them, and insist on a new commitment from the Jewish community to prioritize the well-being and safety of all Jewish families experiencing domestic violence.”
Added Roberta Valente, domestic violence policy expert and report co-author, “We need to re-examine our reliance on systems that were not developed with the safety and independence of survivors in mind. Just like secular approaches, the Jewish community needs to meet domestic violence survivors where they are rather than re-victimizing them by shoe-horning their needs into inadequate systems. Civil and criminal justice, child welfare, workplaces, and economic systems are currently not set up to assist survivors in real time.”
The needs assessment, made possible with the generous support of Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, is the result of a multi-pronged qualitative study of the effects of domestic violence through deep inquiry of survivors, the professionals providing direct services to them, and clergy who are often the first point of support for survivors.
Interviews with survivors revealed the pain they feel when forced to leave the Jewish community and their homes when escaping violence, and feeling shunned, marginalized, and disconnected. The report highlights the importance of survivors feeling supported by their community in order to heal and the spaces in which the larger Jewish community is failing to provide that support. Suggested collaborations and innovations included in the report provide a roadmap for addressing fieldwide gaps in support of survivors.
Recommendations
JWI is calling for a specific and collaborative action plan from Jewish communal institutions, funders and clergy that prioritizes long-term legal support, safe housing within the Jewish community, and the ability to build economic security for survivors. The needs assessment details recommendations for new funding, collaborations and initiatives including:
Ensuring that every survivor has access to trauma-informed and survivor-centered attorneys who can provide representation for short and long-term legal needs
New initiatives to help survivors build economic stability and security, and the development of trauma-informed and survivor-centered training and job readiness programs
Affordable housing and increased access to low interest loans to enable survivors to stay in their communities
Improved training for Jewish clergy to support families experiencing abuse and build safe environments that allow survivors to come forward
Peer-to-peer support and mentorship for advocates, lawyers, and clergy working with survivors
“Jewish Women International works every day to empower women and girls by ensuring and protecting their safety, health, rights, and economic security,” JWI CEO Meredith Jacobs said. “Our organization is spearheading a bold, national vision to meet the systemic needs of survivors and to support the local Jewish programs and advocates who serve them.”
April 27: Panel Event – Research Findings and Recommendations
Registration for the online event can be found here
Speakers will include:
Lisa Eisen, Co-President, Charles and Lynn Shusterman Family Philanthropies
Rain Pryor, JWI board of trustees, director, writer, and activist, who will moderate the panel
Meredith Jacobs, CEO, JWI
Panelists include:
Shoshanna Frydman, Executive Director, Shalom Task Force
Danielle Hartman, President and CEO, Ruth & Norman Rales Jewish Family Services, based in South Florida
Rabbi David M. Rosenberg, Co-Chair, JWI Clergy Task Force to End Domestic Abuse in the Jewish Community
Deborah Rosenbloom, Chief Program Officer, JWI
In the days following the public panel, JWI will host a series of separate convenings to discuss and advance the execution of the specific legal, financial and housing recommendations included in the report. Each gathering will bring together experts, thought leaders and stakeholders important to building a more survivor-centered and community-based response to domestic violence. These conversations are the first step toward strengthening supportive infrastructures for Jewish survivors.
Members of the media are welcome to attend the April 27 research release event. Interview opportunities with report authors are available in advance and upon public release of the research by contacting Alyson Malinger at amalinger@westendstrategy.com or 917-935-7311.
The full needs assessment findings and recommendations are available at JWI’s website.
Research Methodology
JWI developed two distinct surveys, one designed for staff of Jewish domestic violence programs, in order for JWI to understand the gaps and needs of the survivors these programs serve, and a second survey designed to learn about clergy experiences. The surveys were disseminated with the assistance of the Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies, the research project’s advisory committee (comprised of advocates and clergy), and other forms of outreach. Thirty-seven domestic violence programs across the United States (representing nearly the entire universe of such programs) and 35 clergy responded. An additional three programs participated in focus group interviews. In total, 13 interviews/focus groups were held, during which the research team spoke with 22 advocates in 16 communities across the country; additionally, eight interviews with clergy were led by the co-chair of JWI’s Clergy Task Force; and five survivors shared their experiences in-depth with the research team. As part of this project, JWI is providing monthly peer-to-peer support forums for domestic violence providers working in the Jewish community, insights from which were incorporated into the report and recommendations.
Jewish Women International (JWI) is the leading Jewish organization working to end violence against women and girls through prevention programs, advocacy, and awareness initiatives. JWI is a Steering Committee member of the National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence and serves on Everytown for Gun Safety’s Interfaith Advisory Council. JWI convenes the Interfaith Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, the Clergy Task Force to End Domestic Abuse in the Jewish Community, and is the founder and convener of the Jewish Gun Violence Prevention Steering Committee.