Intra verses extra familial sexual abuse in the Orthodox Jewish community as reported by mental health professionals.

Abstract

Objective: While the prevalence rates of sexual abuse (SA) in the Orthodox Jewish (OJ) community appear to be similar to that of the general population, community insularity has made it difficult to obtain more detailed information about the context of SA occurring. The aim of this study was to gather more detailed information regarding the occurrence of SA within the OJ community.

Method: Mental health professionals were asked to complete an anonymous survey about each client in their current caseload who were raised as OJ and disclosed a history of SA. The survey gathered basic demographic information including gender, age of abuse onset, and the relationship the perpetrator had with their victim. Respondents also answered a qualitative question describing the nature of the abuse that took place.

Results: 143 mental health professionals provided information on 248 survivors of SA. For females, the majority of the abuse was intrafamilial (68%) while for males the majority of the abuse was extrafamilial (63%). Females were most likely to be abused by their brother (28.7%) whereas males were most likely to be abused by a friend or neighbor (31.7%). For females, the majority (58%) of abuse started before the age of nine. The qualitative themes that emerged highlight the severe nature of most of the abuse occurring.

Conclusions: This study highlights the need for more age-appropriate education in the OJ community regarding SA as well as programming aimed at targeting intrafamilial SA. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).