Institutional Abandonment of Minority Women in Israel who are Violence Victims

• Main Authors: Tal Meler, Michal Hisherik
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: International Centre for Studies and Research Mediterranean Knowledge 2020-06-01
• Series: Journal of Mediterranean Knowledge
• Subjects: palestinian women citizen of israel; ethiopian women; adequate housing; violence; hollow citizenship; partially exclusionary citizenship
• Online Access: http://www.mediterraneanknowledge.org/publications/index.php/journal/article/view/175

The obligation of the establishment to protecting women against violence is non-consensus and is sometimes conceptualized as a struggle for women-human rights. The present article deals with domestic violence against women from the minority groups of Palestinian and Ethiopian women in Israel, both part of patriarchal, collectivist societies, who suffer from poor civil status. Semi-structured interviews were held with Palestinian and Ethiopian women, as well as professionals in the social services regarding violence against women, including physical and economic violence, and accessibility to resources for protection against violence. Our findings expose both patriarchal repressive practices and official public policies that exacerbate the situation of women violence victims, expressed as hollow citizenship among Palestinian women and partially exclusionary citizenship among Ethiopian women who are part of the Jewish majority. Thus, policymakers should consider adapting violence prevention and treatment programs to minority populations, to make these resources available to all citizens.