The aim of the current study was to address a gap in the literature by determining prevalence, specific types of violence, and risk factors of intimate partner violence (IPV) among Israeli born Arab women compared with Israeli born Jewish women. The following measures were compared: demographic and socioeconomic measures; measures relating to the characteristics of the violence, that is, the three types of violence (physical, emotional, and verbally threatening), sense of danger, and history of violence in childhood; family support levels; and perpetrator characteristics. The sample consisted of 154 Israeli born Arab women and 149 Israeli born Jewish women who were staying in shelters for victims of domestic violence in Israel. A comparison of the two groups revealed that the Arab women were exposed to more physical violence and received less family support than did their Jewish counterparts. The proportion of Arab perpetrators with access to weapons was higher than that of Jewish perpetrators, whereas the proportion of police complaints against Jewish perpetrators was higher than that against Arab perpetrators. Arab women were also younger, less educated, and less a part of the workforce than Jewish women. The contribution of the woman's age to the variance in levels of physical violence was negative and significant. In contrast, the contribution of her sense of danger, and various perpetrator characteristics, was positive. Moreover, the interaction between sense of danger × ethnicity contributed significantly to levels of violence. This study extends the existing knowledge about the contribution of ethnicity as one of many variables that play a role in the lives of women who are victims of domestic violence and highlights the need to develop, in particular, unique individual, community, and social interventions for Arab women in Israeli society.

This study examined whether there were differences in levels of depression between Arab and Jewish Israeli female victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) and how various personal and environmental variables contributed to depression. A total of 303 women were selected. T tests were conducted, and no significant differences were revealed. Hierarchical regressions were also conducted. Background variables (violence in childhood and employment status) and psychiatric treatment contributed significantly to the variance in depression, and a negative contribution was made by personal and environmental variables (sense of mastery and social support). The interaction between ethnic origin and psychiatric treatment was also found to be significant. The discussion highlights the theoretical contribution and implications for practice in the field.

Despite the abundant literature concerning domestic violence against women, very little is known about battered Arab women in Israel. Using intersectionality as the overarching conceptual lens, this study drew from in depth-interviews with 36 battered Arab women and adopted a narrative approach to reveal how battered Arab women in Israel are trapped in abusive relationships within a conflicted society. Drawing from discourse analysis, the findings revealed that participants used the same words to describe themselves and to describe Arab society. This use of metaphorical language revealed the additional meaning of societal patriarchy. It illustrated Arab society’s way of dealing with its entrapment through projecting its difficulties onto Arab women who served as the society’s scapegoats, causing many to suffer not only from multiplied oppressions, but also to face life threatening situations.<br /><br />Key messages<br /><ul><li>This article explores how the historical loss of land and the resulting contemporary circumstances for Palestinians in Israel who are known by the term ‘Israeli Arabs’ have affected men’s attitudes towards what they believe is left of their honour, which is now primarily symbolised by feminine chastity.</li><br /><li>Understanding the contradiction of perceiving Arab society as oppressive towards women, yet at the same time being oppressed, is achieved through exploring psychoanalytical lenses such as projection, identification and split mechanisms.</li><br /><li>Arab society’s mechanism to cope with its entrapment and traumas is mainly conducted through splitting and projecting its difficulties and losses onto a weaker target – the woman.</li></ul>

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