Though Jews have a reputation for talking about everything, there’s one subject that still simmers in near silence — domestic abuse.
Domestic abuse is not a specifically Jewish problem, though it has a particular Jewish face, explained Mequon-resident Millie Sernovitz, national president of Jewish Women International since August 2001.
Studies indicate that domestic abuse occurs in the Jewish community at the same rate as in the general population, “but there are differences in Jewish victims from other victims, whether financial, socio-economic or cultural,” she said in a telephone interview last week.
Jewish women tend to stay in abusive relationships longer than non-Jewish women and their abuse is often psychological, verbal and financial, she explained to The Chronicle in a story that ran last Oct. 11. Also, perhaps because of the principle of shalom bayit (peace in the home), domestic abuse is often hidden, she said.
As part of its continual mission to combat domestic abuse and violence, JWI will hold the First International Conference on Domestic Abuse in the Jewish Community, entitled “Pursuing Truth, Justice and Righteousness: A Call to Action,” July 20-22 in Baltimore.
It will feature some 44 workshops and 95 speakers, including Yael Dayan, former Israeli Knesset member; Rabbi Eliyahu Ben Dahan, director of the Rabbinical Court of Israel; Rivka Haut, agunah activist; and Rabbi Cindy Enger, director of the Jewish Program, Center for the Prevention of Sexual and Domestic Violence, an educational resource headquartered in Seattle. (Former Milwaukeean and domestic abuse expert Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski, M.D., was invited to participate in the conference, according to Sernovitz, but was unable to attend.)
Conference organizers anticipate some 300 attendees from around the world, including domestic violence professionals, social workers, activists, clergy and survivors — anyone, Jewish or not, who deals with Jewish victims. Milwaukee’s Jewish Family Services will be sending at least one therapist to the event.
The conference, partially funded by a three-year, $450,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is one of two major projects planned for the grant’s middle year.
The other, a national needs assessment, is slated to begin formally at the conference with focus groups. The assessment aims “to collect reliable information to define the problem, its dimensions, the critical issues and research and practical priorities,” according to JWI’s website, www.jewish women.org.
Programming will also include special programs for clergy, a Survivor Speak-out and a suite where survivors can gather. Also planned is a Clothesline Project, a public education tool in which survivors tell their stories through pictures and words drawn on t-shirts. On the final day, the shirts will be hung for all to see.
The goal of the conference lies in its title — “A Call to Action.” Organizers hope it will signal the beginning of a global Jewish voice on the issue of domestic abuse that will shape a movement.
“The call to action is the piece we leave the conference with,” said Sernovitz. “It’s how we in the Jewish and secular communities go forward and help people understand that Jewish victims aren’t necessarily the same as other victims.”
Conference participants will help produce an Agenda for Action, which will be the movement’s foundation, and have the opportunity to endorse it.
The conference is co-sponsored by the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation in Baltimore and the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families.
“Supporting Partners,” individuals and organizations that support the conference at varying financial levels, include Sernovitz and the Jewish Women’s Endowment Fund of the Women’s Division, Milwaukee Jewish Federation.
Combating domestic abuse is not new to Sernovitz, who has been a member of JWI since 1973 and has held varied roles locally, regionally and internationally. In 1997, she helped found CHAI-The Jewish Coalition on Family Violence here. CHAI, an acronym for counseling, Helpline, advocacy and information, offers a 24-hour telephone Helpline at 414-303-9399.
Sernovitz was co-director of Volunteer Services at JFS, is on the board of the Women’s Division of the federation and serves as a commissioner on the Milwaukee Commission on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.
For Sernovitz, her work on domestic abuse boils down to helping people. “It’s about getting the word out so that communities can help Jewish victims,” she said.
For more information about the conference, call JWI at 800-343-2823.
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