Hasidic Sexual Abuse

Introduction

This guide is intended to be a brief primer for professionals working in the criminal justice field or as treatment providers with victims of sexual abuse within Hasidic and Haredi (orthodox and ultra-orthodox), Jewish communities. Child sexual abuse is a reprehensible, hidden and particularly shameful crime in ultra-orthodox and Hasidic Jewish communities. Sexual abuse of children is considered dishonorable in most communities throughout the world; yet there are additional layers of judgment, shame and blaming the victim in ultra-orthodox or Hasidic sects.

Culture and Religion

It is impossible to address the issue of sexual abuse in these communities, without addressing basic issues within and that shape these religious communities.

These beliefs create additional difficulties in treatment of sexual abuse victims (Shor, 1998). On a related topic, the issue of a being exposed to group therapy, a frequently utilized modality for offenders within the general community, would rarely if ever be utilized. This resistance to group processes for fear there would be other community members present, potentially limiting confidentiality and making it more unlikely and uncomfortable the offenders would be forthcoming. As for patients, treating therapists often need to work carefully with the child and parents to determine whom, if anybody in the child’s support system might be safe to recruit for the purposes of safely sharing feeling and concerns related to the

“All aspects of life, from the mundane to the lofty, are imbued with religious significance” and posed to rabbis (Friedman, et. al 2009). Prior to publicly reporting any crime, most Hasidim and ultra-orthodox Jews believe they must consult their rabbi, who must give the approval to report the crime to any law enforcement agency. These decisions, like many others, are mandated by rabbinic and community authority to require asking a shylah (questions to be answered only by a rabbi) in which rabbinic authorities proffer advice about situations and the answer seeker feels compelled to comply and rely on Da’as Torah (rabbinic law) for guidance (Resnicoff,