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Domestic Violence in the Jewish Community - We Need your Feedback

The Jewish community is not immune to domestic violence, it occurs among all sects of Judaism and at all socio-economic levels. However, there are characteristics that are specific to how Jewish individuals experience violence. These include: a tendency to stay up to three times longer in abusive relationships than non-Jewish women, not accessing services such as emergency shelters and social service organizations, and a greater likelihood to seek help from an intimate network of friends and family rather than specialized services. For people of Jewish Faith, such factors act as additional barriers to leaving abusive situations.

The University of Calgary and Jewish Family Service Calgary have teamed together to create a survey in order to better understand domestic violence in the Jewish communities of the Prairie Provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba).

Through this research project we aim to learn more about:

  1. the scope of domestic violence in the Jewish community;
  2. the service needs of individuals affected by domestic violence;
  3. the barriers individuals affected by domestic violence who are Jewish face accessing services; and
  4. to whom Jewish individuals tend to disclose domestic violence.

In order to obtain this important information and improve the services in our community, we need your help! We are asking members of the Jewish community to help us with this study by completing a 15-30 minute survey. If you would like to participate, please find the survey at:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DomesticViolenceinJewishCommunity.
The survey is smart phone and tablet compatible.

In Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba little is known beyond anecdote about the rates, seriousness, and response to domestic violence in Jewish families. In each province, the populations of the Jewish communities are on the rise, and service agencies are trying to develop and provide services to match community needs. Your input is very important as it will help guide future programs, policies and investments aimed to end domestic violence in our Jewish community.

On behalf of Jewish Family Service Calgary, Jewish Family Service Edmonton and the University of Calgary, we sincerely thank you for your time and consideration in participating in this important research project aimed to improve the well-being of the members of our Jewish community and reduce instances of violence and abuse in our society as a whole.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact the Project Coordinator, Nela Cosic, at ncosic@ucalgary.ca or (403) 441-4552 or Andrea Silverstone, Shalom Bayit Coordinator at andreas@jfsc.org or (403) 616 7673.

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