The Distress and the Meaning Making of Divorced Abused Arab Women in Israel

ABSTRACT

Women’s divorce in the Arab society in Israel goes against patriarchal social values. The aim of this research is to explore the meaning that abused Arab women gave to their divorce. The present study based on interviews with 13 women, who had been divorced for 2 to 5 years. Analysis revealed that the women perceived their coping as navigation between the cost of stigma and familial and social distress, and the gains of their connection to sources of strength and self-worth. The discussion based on the interviewees’ existential experience their self-identity as meaning makers and choosers.

KEYWORDS:

• Divorced abused women
• collectivist culture
• arab women