Abstract
This study aimed to understand patterns of physical and psychological violence and the system of social support among female immigrants from the Former Soviet Union in Israel who are suffering from domestic violence. Immigrant women receiving help in Centers for the Treatment and Prevention of Domestic Violence and in shelters for battered women (n = 74) were compared with Israeli-born women receiving help in the same Centers and shelters (n = 107). Immigrant and Israeli-born women reported similar levels of physical and psychological violence, and the immigrants’ utilization of formal and informal systems of social support was similar to that among Israeli-born women. However, immigrant women were threatened more frequently with expulsion from Israel, and their partners were alcoholically intoxicated more often than the partners of Israeli-born women. Non-Jewish women were more frequently threatened with expulsion from Israel, and they reported a lower level of social support received from parents and friends.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ahmad, F., Riaz, S., Barata, P., & Stewart, D. E. (2004). Patriarchal beliefs and perceptions of abuse among South Asian immigrant women. Violence Against Women, 10(3), 262–282.
Anderson, M. J. (1993). A license to abuse: the impact of conditional status on female immigrants. Yale Law Journal, 102(6), 1401–1430.
Burman, E., & Chantler, K. (2005). Domestic violence and minoritisation: legal and policy barriers facing minoritized women leaving violent relationships. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 28(1), 59–74.
Caetano, R., Cunradi, C. B., Clark, C. L., & Schafer, J. (2000). Intimate partner violence and drinking patterns among Whites, Black, and Hispanic couples in the U.S. Journal of Substance Abuse, 11(2), 123–138.
Caspi, D., Adoni, H., Cohen, A. A., & Elias, N. (2002). The red, the white, and the blue: the Russian media in Israel. Gazette, 64(6), 537–556.
Central Bureau of Statistics of Israel [CBSI]. (2010). Statistical abstract of Israel, 2010. Jerusalem: CBSI.
Cubbins, L. A., & Vannoy, D. (2005). Socioeconomic resources, gender traditionalism, and wife abuse in urban Russian couples. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67(1), 37–52.
Dumont, J.-C., & Lemaître, G. (2005). Counting immigrants and expatriates in OECD countries: a new perspective. Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations Secretariat. New York. http://www.un.org/esa/population/migration/turin/Symposium_Turin_files/P09_Dumont&Lemaitre.pdf
Eisikovits, Z., Guttmann, E., Sela-Amit, M., & Edleson, J. L. (1993). Women battering in Israel: the relative contributions of relationship adjustment, conflict and social support. The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 63(2), 313–317.
Eisikovits, Z., Winstok, Z., & Fishman, G. (2004). The first Israeli national survey on domestic violence. Violence Against Women, 10(7), 729–748.
Farmer, A., & Tiefenthaler, J. (2003). Explaining the recent decline in domestic violence. Contemporary Economic Policy. Retrieved from :http://www.nasams.org/DMS/Documents/1195248210.25/Explaining%20Decline%20in%20Domestic%20Violence.pdf
Field, C. A., & Caetano, R. (2004). Ethnic differences in intimate partner violence in the US general population: the role of alcohol use and social status. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 5(4), 303–317.
Gregory, R. G., & Meng, X. (2005). Intermarriage and the economic assimilation of immigrants. Journal of Labor Economics, 23(1), 135–175.
Haj-Yahia, M. M. (2003). Beliefs about wife beating among Arab men from Israel: the influence of their patriarchal ideology. Journal of Family Violence, 18(4), 193–206.
Horne, S. (1999). Domestic violence in Russia. American Psychologist, 54(1), 55–61.
Isralowitz, R., Straussner, L., Vogt, I., & Chtenguelov, V. (2002). A preliminary exploration of immigrant substance abusers from the former Soviet Union living in Israel, Germany and the United States: a multi-national perspective. Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions, 2(3/4), 119–136.
Johnson, H. (2000). The role of alcohol in male partners’ assaults on wives. Journal of Drug Issues, 30(4), 725–740.
Johnson, M. P., & Ferraro, K. J. (2000). Research on domestic violence in the 1990s: making distinctions. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62(4), 948–963.
Kalmijn, M. (1998). Intermarriage and homogamy: causes, patterns, trends. Annual Review of Sociology, 24(2), 395–421.
Kasturirangan, A., Krishnan, S., & Riger, S. (2004). The impact of culture and minority status on women’s experience of domestic violence. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 5(4), 318–332.
Kushnirovich, N. (2007). Yearbook of immigrants in Israel 2006: statistical abstract. Emeck Khefer: Ruppin Academic Center, Institute for Immigration and Social Integration, Israel. (In Hebrew).
Leshem, E., & Lissak, M. (1999). Development and consolidation of the Russian community in Israel. In S. Weil (Ed.), Roots and routs: Ethnicity and migration in global perspective (pp. 36–171). Jerusalem: Magnes.
Levendosky, A. A., Bogat, G. A., Theran, S. A., Trotter, J. S., von Eye, A., & Davidson, W. S. (2004). The social networks of women experiencing domestic violence. American Journal of Community Psychology, 34(1/2), 95–109.
Lown, E. A., & Vega, W. A. (2001). Prevalence and predictors of physical partner abuse among Mexican American women. American Journal of Public Health, 91(3), 441–445.
McKee, M. (1999). Alcohol in Russia. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 34(6), 824–829.
Meir, A., & Talay, S., & Hanoch-Achdut, M. (2011). Programs in prevention and treatment of domestic violence and help to female sexual workers. Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services, Department of Individual and Social Services. Jerusalem, Israel. (In Hebrew).
Menjivar, C., & Salcido, O. (2002). Immigrant women and domestic violence: common experiences in different countries. Gender and Society, 16(6), 898–920.
Muhlbauer, V. (2006). Domestic violence in Israel: changing attitudes. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1087(2), 301–310.
Pridemore, W. A. (2002). Vodka and violence: alcohol consumption and homicide rates in Russia. American Journal of Public Health, 92(12), 1921–1930.
Raj, A., & Silverman, J. (2002). Violence against immigrant women: the role of culture, context, and legal immigrant status on intimate partner violence. Violence Against Women, 8(3), 367–398.
Remennick, L. (2003). What does integration mean? Social insertion of Russian immigrants in Israel. Journal of International Migration and Immigration, 4(1), 23–49.
Remennick, L. (2004). Providers, caregivers, and sluts: women with a Russian accent in Israel. Nashim: A Journal of Jewish Women’s Studies, and Gender Issues, 8(1), 87–114.
Ritsner, M., Modai, I., & Ponizovsky, A. (2000). The stress-support patterns and psychological distress of immigrants. Stress and Health, 16(3), 139–147.
Rodriguez, E., Lasch, K. E., & Lee, C. J. (2001). Family violence, employment status, welfare benefits, and alcohol drinking in the United States: what is the relation? Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 55(3), 172–178.
Sainsbury, D. (2006). Immigrants’ social rights in comparative perspective: welfare regimes, forms in immigration and immigration policy regimes. Journal of European Social Policy, 16(3), 229–244.
Sakalli, N. (2001). Beliefs about wife beating among Turkish college students: the effects of patriarchy, sexism, and sex differences. Sex Roles, 44(4), 599–610.
Slonim-Nevo, V., Sheraga, Y., & Mirsky, J. (1999). A culturally sensitive approach to therapy with immigrant families. The case of Jewish emigrants from the former Soviet Union. Family Process, 38(4), 445–462.
Sokoloff, N. J., & Dupont, I. (2005). Domestic violence at the intersections of race, class, and gender: challenges and contributions to understanding violence against marginalized women in diverse communities. Violence Against Women, 11(1), 38–64.
Stickley, A., Kislitsyna, O., Timofeeva, I., & Vagero, D. (2008). Attitudes towards intimate partner violence against women in Moscow, Russia. Journal of Family Violence, 23(6), 447–456.
Stickley, A., Timofeeva, I., & Sparen, P. (2008). Risk factors for intimate partner violence against women in St. Petersburg, Russia. Violence against Women, 14(4), 483–495.
Straus, M. A. (2004). Prevalence of violence against dating partners by male and female university students worldwide. Violence Against Women, 10(7), 790–811.
Straus, M. A., Hamby, S. L., Boney-Mccoy, S., & Sugarman, D. B. (1996). The Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2): development and preliminary psychometric data. Journal of Family Issues, 17(3), 283–316.
Taylor, W. K., Magnussen, L., & Amundson, M. J. (2001). The lived experience of battered women. Violence Against Women, 7(5), 563–585.
Tjaden, P., Thoennes, N., & Allison, C. J. (1999). Comparing violence over the life span in samples of same-sex and opposite-sex cohabitants. Violence and Victims, 14(4), 413–425.
Tolman, R. M. (1989). The development of a measure of psychological maltreatment of women by their male partners. Violence and Victims, 4(3), 159–177.
Tolts, M. (2009). Mixed marriage and post-Soviet aliyah. In S. Reinharz & S. DellaPergola (Eds.), Jewish intermarriage around the world (pp. 89–104). New Brunswick, USA and London, UK: Transaction Publishers.
Torres, S. (1991). A comparison of wife abuse between two cultures: perceptions, attitudes, nature and extent. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 12(1), 113–131.
Watts, C., & Zimmerman, C. (2002). Violence against women: global scope and magnitude. Lancet, 359(9313), 1232–1237.
Yoshihama, M. (1999). Domestic violence against women of Japanese descent in Los Angeles: two methods of estimating prevalence. Violence Against Women, 5(8), 869–897.
Zimet, G. D., Dahlem, N. W., Zimet, S. G., & Farley, G. K. (1988). The multidimensional scale of perceived social support. Journal of Personality Assessment, 52(1), 30–41.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tartakovsky, E., Mezhibovsky, S. Female Immigrant Victims of Domestic Violence: A Comparison between Immigrants from the Former Soviet Union in Israel and Israeli-Born Women. J Fam Viol 27, 561–572 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-012-9447-z
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-012-9447-z