CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE IN THE HASIDIC COMMUNITIES AND THE SECRECY THAT FUELS IT

Abstract

Abstract

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a widespread and troubling issue that affects people from all cultures, communities, and religions. CSA in Hasidic Jewish communities is regularly overlooked. This is due to a complex collection of structural and cultural systems and a rich history of persecution, which has directly impacted the community's place in society. Two traumas occur in a case of CSA: the abuse itself, and adverse reactions to disclosure. The effects of these traumas on the body and mind can manifest in different forms, one of which is PTSD. Bessel van der Kolk's (2014) model for understanding PTSD outlines and explains the psychological and physiological implications of sexual trauma. Past research on grooming behaviors within a religious setting, social and academic functioning of those with PTSD, power imbalances between abusers and victims, and, recognition or non-recognition of abuse, creates a clearer picture of the secrecy surrounding CSA and its possible outcomes. Through my fieldwork in a psychotherapy clinic that serves the Hasidic and Ultra-Orthodox communities, I have witnessed the manifestation of trauma on victims of sexual abuse. My clinical observations and the experience of my clinical supervisor (as documented in an in-depth interview) are consistent with van der Kolk's (2014) framework for PTSD. Discussing anything, even vaguely sexual, is highly discouraged in Hasidic communities. This leads to several ways in which disclosure of CSA is systematically discouraged. The Hasidic communities regularly protect perpetrators of sexual abuse. CSA in the Hasidic communities is systematically hidden and must be researched in order to protect a vulnerable and silenced population.

Keywords: Hasidic, child sexual abuse (CSA), secrecy, trauma, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), abusers