Navigating Silence: Sexual Abuse Awareness and Experience Among Ultra‑Orthodox Jewish Social Work Students

This quantitative cross-sectional study explores how ultra-Orthodox Jewish social work students in Israel navigate the cultural silence surrounding sexual abuse, examining both awareness and self-reported experience. In a community where open discussion of sexuality is constrained by religious norms, a culturally adapted anonymous survey was administered to 190 undergraduate students at a religiously affiliated academic institution. Usable responses were obtained from 174 students (52% men, 48% women). Participants were asked whether they had personally experienced sexual abuse or knew someone close to them who had. Among women, 29% reported personal experience and 18% were uncertain whether their experience qualified as abuse; among men, 21% reported abuse and 21% expressed uncertainty. Awareness of others' abuse was reported by 82% of women and 60% of men. Logistic regression indicated that women were more likely than men to report personal experience with sexual abuse, and students aged 30 and older were more likely than those aged 17 to 24 to do so. Women were also more likely than men, and students aged 25 to 29 were more likely than younger students, to report knowing someone who had been abused. Findings offer novel insights into the ways sexual abuse is understood and disclosed in a closed religious society and highlight the need for culturally sensitive frameworks in social work education and assessment.