Tackling sexual abuse among ultra-Orthodox is especially difficult - analysis
How his activities did not come to light sooner?
ZAKA leader Rabbi Yehuda Meshi-Zahav and members of
ZAKA
The harrowing details
of the allegations of rape and sexual abuse against Zaka founder Yehuda
Meshi-Zahav have made for horrifying reading in recent days.
In a lengthy investigative piece in the Haaretz daily, the testimony of six alleged victims detailed abuse conducted by Meshi-Zahav going back decades, starting in the 1980s.
About
10 others have come forward and spoken to other media outlets since the
article was published last week, and it is believed that the number of
total victims could be many times greater.
With
such a large number of apparent victims and with Meshi-Zahav allegedly
committing his sexual crimes over such a long period of time, the
question is being asked how his activities did not come to light sooner.
Several
reports have noted that so-called “Modesty Police” organizations in the
ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods where Meshi-Zahav lived and operated were
aware of the abuses he was committing but did not do enough to stop him
and failed to report him to the police.
And
the police reportedly conducted a secret investigation back in 2013 but
were unable to make progress, in part because none of his victims had
been willing to testify.
After
decades of allegedly raping and sexually abusing men, women, boys and
girls in the ultra-Orthodox community, Meshi-Zahav’s past is finally
catching up with him.
Shana
Aaronson, director of Magen for Jewish Communities, which assists
sexual abuse victims in Israel and the Diaspora and assisted Haaretz
with its investigation, says that victims of sexual abuse across all
sectors of society are often very reluctant to come forward and inform
the authorities of what happened for several reasons.
Victims
can feel that they will not be believed, that their family will be
angry with them, that they might be the only person their attacker is
abusing, or because they are simply shamed by what had happened,
Aaronson said.
In
cases where the abuser is an influential individual or in a position of
power or authority, concerns that the claims will not be believed or
even of reprisals and revenge by the attacker can be further reasons not
to come forward.
Aaronson
cites cases such as that of convicted serial rapist Larry Nassar, who
worked as a USA Gymnastics national team doctor and who is believed to
have sexually assaulted at least 265 girls and women.
Allegations against Nassar surfaced in the 1990s but it was not until 2016 that public accusations were made against him.
On average, victims of sexual abuse will wait ten years before reporting their abuse Aaronson said.
She
notes that even though this phenomenon is widespread across many
sectors of society, there are other factors in the ultra-Orthodox
community which can exacerbate it.
The
highly conservative nature of the community in general and the great
reluctance to talk about any aspect of sex, sexuality, or even the human
body, engenders a greater sense of shame about all such matters, all
the more so when it comes to sexual abuse.
Ultra-Orthodox
society also places a heavy focus on the importance of “marrying well,”
and even the smallest infractions of religious norms can harm someone’s
marriage opportunities.
Being
the victim of sexual abuse could certainly have a negative impact on
someone’s marriage options, and Aaronson says this could be an
additional reason for someone not to step forward.
In
addition, there is a strong focus on the importance of virginity, which
victims would obviously compromise if they publicly acknowledge having
been raped or abused.
“Sexual
activity is a completely private matter. Discussion of sex, including
sexual abuse and the privacy of the body, is ignored in every way
possible,”
This
effectively turns ultra-Orthodox society into a target-rich environment
because many young people are unaware that the sexual abuse they are
experiencing is even wrong or forbidden.
In
some ultra-Orthodox communities, children and teenagers are often not
able to even describe their different body parts and therefore lack the
language to describe their abuse.
Indeed, some of the testimony that has surfaced about Meshi-Zahav corroborates this problem.
One
alleged victim cited in the Haaretz article as Aleph said he was 14
when Meshi-Zahav started abusing him, and said he had no idea “how
children are brought into the world.”
Said Aleph: “As a young child with sexual curiosity, I did not understand that I was being sexually abused.”
“Many victims do not have the language to express what’s happening to them,” says Aaronson.
“Their
gut feeling is that what’s happening is something bad but they have so
little awareness that they can’t even tell someone if they wanted to.”
Aaronson
said that children, in particular, are “unbelievably vulnerable to the
manipulation of an abuser.” If an abuser says, for example, that
something is normal for friends to do together, a child will easily
believe them.
“Ayin,”
another of the alleged victims cited in the Haaretz investigation, said
that he was just five years old when he says Meshi-Zahav began to abuse
him – abuse which carried on for two years.
“I
didn’t realize that this was something forbidden and I didn’t try and
stop it or move him off of me. For years, I didn’t even ascribe this any
importance,” he said.
Efforts
by Magen and other organizations have been afoot for several years now
to change the culture in ultra-Orthodox society regarding how to deal
with and educate about sexual abuse.
These
efforts will be critical for addressing and exposing the appalling
abuse that can take place when predators operate in such environments.