Sex Abuse Within the Jewish Community – A Sad but True Reality
Clergy sexual abuse in itself is a heinous crime. Though sexual abuse incidences have been widely reported in the Roman Catholic Church, for a long time, the sex abuse of children at the hands of rabbis and teachers in the Jewish community has been unheard of. The reason is very simple; they have managed to keep it a secret by adopting varied coercive measures. Yeshiva, a type of Jewish educational institution and other Jewish community centers, have turned a blind eye to the reports of sexual abuse and in some cases, even have allowed the offenders to continue to work with them. As if nothing has occurred and not one complaint was made.
In the Jewish community, rabbis are highly regarded. Thus, it never occurs to the parents that something can go wrong when they entrust their children with them. Rabbi’s, like other astute religious professionals, time and again have sexually abused children and violated their oath. However, children are often too scared to explain what happened even to their parents since they do not understand what happened and is happening and they believe their parents will not believe it. What worsens the matter is the fact that in certain Jewish communities, it is a stigma even to be a sexual victim. However, things are changing now. Encouraged by the stand taken by Catholics against clergy abuse, the Jewish community is also waking up to the fact that some of their rabbis are not who they seem to be and are not worth defending.
As very little is known about the Jewish community to the outside world, it is extremely difficult to file civil lawsuits against the organization. This is also slowly changing. Either way, clergy abuse should not be tolerated. Being silent solves nothing as well. You will have to talk to someone, preferably a clergy sexual abuse attorney, to seek and land the justice you deserve.
If you or someone you know has even been abused by a rabbi in or outside of a yeshiva, we recommend that you talk to us. Rogatinsky & Matthews is dedicated to sexual abuse survivors and we are ready to help you with your clergy or rabbi sexual abuse problem and complaint. If you have been sexually abused by a Jewish rabbi, contact rabbi sexual abuse attorney Samuel Rogatinsky. He can be the help you have been searching for.
If someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse by a member of the clergy, contact our law firm at (954) 995.3805 or send an email to sexual abuse lawyer Samuel Rogatinsky at samr@clergyabuse.org