Domestic violence occurs in a variety of forms. Levy (1999) stated that the various forms of abuse include physical (e.g., punching, hitting, and choking), emotional or verbal abuse (e.g., belittling, shaming, and threatening), and sexual abuse. Levy explained the reason for abuse is about the power to control and having control over another individual. Once abuse starts, it is known to never stop and in most cases, progresses to something more severe.
Domestic violence is considered the single most common cause of injury to women. It accounts for more injuries to women than rape, muggings, and car accidents combined (Harris, 1999). Harris also mentioned that Jewish women tended to stay in abusive situations several years longer than those of non-Jewish decent. This statement was believed to apply to all Jewish women including Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, and Orthodox.
Harris also stated that a woman falls victim to domestic violence every 15 seconds, which calculates into 240 victims every hour and 5,760 victims every day. Levy (1999) discussed research that showed a woman is beaten every nine seconds in the United States and an estimated 95 percent of all domestic abuse victims are women.
Domestic violence in Isr'l has been increasing, with close to 200,000 Isr'li women being battered every year (Kakar, 1997). Sernthal (1999) discussed a finding, which stated that while domestic violence has been openly publicized for a long time in America, it was only recently discussed in Isr'l.
In Isr'l, domestic violence has not been found to be closely associated with other stressors (e.g., drug and alcohol abuse, divorce, and poverty) (Kakar, 1997). Sternthal (1999) also stated that Orthodox women tend to keep quiet about situations of domestic violence.
Harris (1999) discussed research, which stated that Jewish women tend on average to stay longer in abusive relationships. Harris also comment
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