Between the Person and the Culture: Israeli Arab Couple's Perceptions of Police Intervention in Intimate Partner Violence

The purpose of this article to present an in-depth analysis of the initial complaint to police as perceived by abused Israeli Arab women and their perpetrators. The research used in-depth, semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 20 Israeli Arab men and women. Findings indicated that women and men in Arab society in Israel are both caught in a struggle between two opposing forces: One is directed towards preserving traditional cultural codes and values concerning asymmetric gender relationships, emphasis on family values, honor, and the powerful delegation of conflict resolution to the extended family; the other expresses increasing awareness of women's right to oppose their own victimization by men and to make their own decisions. Implications for practice in the domain of social control and intervention with cultural minority groups are suggested.