Jerusalem – Yeshiva Students Attend Course How To Prevent Sexual Harassment

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    File photoJerusalem – Between a Gemara class and a morality class hesder yeshiva students will attend a special course at the Rape Crisis Center for Religious Women. The course is meant to train yeshiva students to become instructors at workshops on the prevention of sexual harassment, which they will give at high school yeshivas and ultra-Orthodox schools.

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    The objective of this initiative is to provide religious and haredi teenagers with tools to prevent assault, and teach them how to act in case they were victim of abuse.

    “There’s an epidemic of sexual abuse of children in Israel,” said Debbie Gross, who runs the center. “This epidemic exists in all the sectors, including the religious and haredi ones. We are talking about a very serious phenomenon, which I believe can be substantially reduced through these workshops.

    “We are already running similar workshops in kindergartens and elementary schools. The problem is that some schools don’t allow us in classes over the fourth grade, not to mention yeshivot, which don’t let us in at all because they don’t want women to host the workshop.

    “This is exactly why we needed to train men. We approached the heads of the hesder yeshivot and they agreed,” she said.

    Is there a difference between the religious and haredi public and the secular public with regards to sexual abuse?

    “The only difference is that in the religious and haredi society abuse is made much easier, because of the gender separation. A predator would go to places where there are no mothers to protect their children. For instance, a haredi mother can’t take her son to the swimming pool from the age of 8-9. So the kids sometimes go with an older brother, who doesn’t always keep an eye on them.

    “Additionally, in our education system we have men teaching children from the age of three. This doesn’t exist in the secular system, where one can graduate from high school without ever having a male teacher. We know that an attacker usually seeks a profession that allows him to be close to kids,” Gross explained.

    The course was made possible thanks to a grant from the Shatil organization, the Empowerment and Training Center for Social Change Organizations in Israel.


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    56 Comments
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    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    It is very progressive and a real kiddush hashem for the Yeshiva to allow Ms. Gross to let women run these critically important classes for the bochurim. These are issues where a women’s perspective is vital and not getting hung up on the usual arcane debate over whether women should teach men on sensitive subjects shows really progress and insight by the Rosh Yeshiva. kol hakovod to these leaders.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    about time some progress is being made on this important issue!

    YG
    YG
    14 years ago

    If the Center feels its so important that guys in ‘Yeshivot’ get informed so why don’t they stop harping on the fact that women aren’t allowed in and just send a male teacher?

    At times like these we can’t help but wonder if there is perhaps another agenda.

    grow up
    grow up
    14 years ago

    a zelche krimer kep
    how can you teach boys about…….
    by women
    mamish mishugaim
    scream kedusha & in same time do moshe kaoia

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Kol hakuvud!

    anonymous
    anonymous
    14 years ago

    Reply to #1 . Arcane shmarcane, our holy chacumim knew what they were doing and if they didn’t see the need to address this issue head on, especially being headed by women, neither should we. Remember its a slippery slope and chodosh osur min hatorah, and oseh chadushois- ba’al milchumois. Our mesorah is our light and that’s all there is to it. Without our forefathers where would we be? And we can’t begin to understand their aspaklarye ham’eeruh, I’m hurishoinim kimaluchim oonee kibnai udum etc etc.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    bitul zman

    kanoie
    kanoie
    14 years ago

    our gedolim
    R Shteinman R kanievsky
    say not to talk much about it
    just sa y to be tzonua
    learn the basic halaca in shulchan oruch aven hoezer
    The More you talk to kids about this subject
    the more you give them whatto think about……
    you know what I’m saying……

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    A rabbi told me last year that if someone would taught him how to treat a women before my marriage my wife would be in much better shape…

    hidden agenda
    hidden agenda
    14 years ago

    just another attempt by radical man-hating feminazis to ‘castrate’ all of mankind…they do it with social pressure, and also these ‘educational’ methods. “men=evil”, you need to be ‘trained’ (and neutered)

    Scary
    Scary
    14 years ago

    This Quote is scarier then Hell
    We know that an attacker usually seeks a profession that allows him to be close to kids,”

    benzy
    benzy
    14 years ago

    #12 can you explain where kiddushhashem comes in here. i see posters all over throw in the word kiddish hashem eveyinir irrelevent article.your ignorance of quite few halachik implication of womenteaching men especisally bochorim. byusing the word ‘progressive’you put yourself in reform and dow category,so its awonder that youcare about kidish hashem, kiddish hashem is not when we suscribe to views that are anti torah so those who consicder the torah backward will be happy with you, no that is chillil hashem, because you want be kachol hagoim and you are not comfortable with your torah.kiddish hashem means that you follow the torah and not to look if goyinm approve of your way, torah way. Its pathetic of what quite a few people think is kiddush hashem.

    chochem
    chochem
    14 years ago

    # 23 a rebbetzin told me 5 years ago that if someone wouldve taugth me how to treat a husband berore my marriage, my husband would be in much better shape

    favel
    favel
    14 years ago

    #22 a man teaching noshim tzidkanious is also not oisgehalten

    tapanzee
    tapanzee
    14 years ago

    A woman can show them better what happens it’s called “hands on” & to #24 they made sure she’s ugly

    smerel
    smerel
    14 years ago

    #29 and like minded ..you have alot of mussar sforim to learn..holy tzaddikim who purified themselfs and they still had pachad from hurhurim …and you big ‘tzaddik ‘ can say that! . you are so eigezinken in this chet of histaklus and lets not mention what else that you dont even feel anymore your tumah

    avner
    avner
    14 years ago

    #32 i think you are troubled person berochnious. you have no inkling of one issur deoireise a yid repeats twice a day ‘lo sasuru achrei eineichm’. If you make such comments you probably dont say shema every day at which i asume your MO and down.,so what you doing on ehrliche torah site

    Milhouse
    Milhouse
    14 years ago

    This article is completely sexist. According to this Gross woman, charedi children are at risk because mothers can’t take their sons to the pool, as if mothers are more trustworthy than fathers or brothers. Most telling, though, is this quote: “Additionally, in our education system we have men teaching children from the age of three. This doesn’t exist in the secular system, where one can graduate from high school without ever having a male teacher.” As if there’s something suspect about male teachers and not female ones. It is a sick sexist attitude that treats men as suspects and women as saints.

    And why is it, exactly, that the secular system has almost no men? Should that not appear to a secular person just as strange as the charedi system having no women teaching boys? At least the charedi system doesn’t discriminate, and hires women to teach girls; the secular system, apparently, doesn’t hire men at all, or makes an environment so hostile to men that they don’t even apply! And it’s the charedim who have the problem???? Look in your own house for the problem, Ms Gross.

    mical
    mical
    14 years ago

    #45 3 cheers , you said it. These ehrliche yidden haters over exaggerate these problems to lessen their guilt of not observing the torah properly, you know, like if this ehrliche yid ,lies, connives sometime, one in how manny thousand did this maseh toaivh …so its ok that im not shmer shabbos, eat treif etc etc…

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    #48 so fromthis story its prooven that its commen? or from another few stories? nbody sais it doesnt happen