Battered women urged to speak out

By RUTH EGLASH
battered woman 88 (photo credit: )
battered woman 88
(photo credit: )
The head of Israel's Hot Line for Battered Women called Sunday for women in violent relationships not to keep quiet, but to speak out about their problems. Inna Pazin, director of the hot line for the past 14 years, told The Jerusalem Post: "We really want to let women know that they should not remain quiet, that they should talk to friends, relatives or seek out professional counseling about what to do if they are in a violent relationship. Women who are scared can call our hot line anonymously. It operates 24 hours a day, in three languages and is free." Pazin's comments came hours after the bodies of Jerusalem couple Zita and David Turgeman were discovered in an apparent murder-suicide in their apartment, and just over a week after Ethiopian immigrant Ilu Beju murdered his wife Atelu and then shot himself in Or Yehuda. Also Sunday, Haifa resident Igor Zolia was convicted of manslaughter for stabbing his partner, Olga Labachnik, 86 times. Pazin said that violence by husbands against their wives was a growing problem among new immigrants in this country, especially those arriving from Ethiopia and Russia. "According to the statistics we have gathered, the number of murders by husbands of their wives is the highest in the Ethiopian community and then in the Russian community," said Pazin, adding, "the stresses of moving to a new country are a very serious cause of violence by husbands against their wives." Pazin said, however, that despite the number of high profile incidents over the last few weeks, the number of cases of violence by men against their partners has remained constant over the past few years. The Hot Line for Battered Women offers services countrywide in Hebrew, Russian and English. It can be reached on 1-800-353-300.