On that day – October 7 – the ground shook, not only along the borders but deep within our collective soul. The women of the western Negev – mothers, daughters, and sisters – found themselves at the heart of the storm.
They survived the unimaginable, the horror, the loss. Yet survival is only the beginning.
Today, as a fragile sense of normalcy returns, we must not forget them. We must not assume they are “okay.” Women’s post-trauma is often quiet, invisible, and hard to detect. It creeps in at night, erupts in small moments, and steals the air from one’s lungs. Now is their time – to breathe, to heal, and to take care of themselves.
Alongside the thousands of male soldiers wounded in body and soul, there are women – those whom history too often overlooks. Women’s trauma tends to fade between the lines, between the reports, and between the priorities. We are here to remind those of what’s often forgotten, to make them seen, and to create more spaces for healing, more resources, and more recognition. They are not lesser. They are not secondary. They are central.
In the wake of October 7, the Eden Association launched two vital initiatives, born from a deep understanding of the emotional and immediate needs of those women. The first, Women Tell War, provides a safe space for women to share their stories, to be heard, and to simply exist.
The second, Eden for You, is a therapeutic center offering emotional support, professional treatment, and community care for women affected by trauma. Both initiatives were established in the early days of the war and are the foundation for the moment after the war. Recovery does not begin when the fighting ends; it begins when someone truly sees you.
What is the Eden Model to work with women's trauma?
At the core of these programs lies the Eden Model, a therapeutic framework developed through years of experience in treating women’s trauma. It is a gender-sensitive approach based on the principles of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), integrating emotional regulation, resilience-building, group work, and community engagement.
This model allows women to undergo deep healing processes that recognize the social, cultural, and gendered contexts shaping their experiences of trauma. It is therapy that understands the female experience – not just clinically, but humanly.
That is why trauma care must be gender-responsive. Research consistently shows that women experience trauma differently from men. They are more prone to anxiety, depression, and PTSD and often face sexual or emotional trauma with distinct gendered patterns.
Treatment that ignores these realities risks missing the essence of the experience and perpetuating invisibility. Various gender-aware therapeutic methods – whether attachment-based (DBT) or feminist models – enable women to feel safe, understood, and supported. This isn’t just better care; it’s fairer care.
The state must act – not only with words but with actions. Establish dedicated support centers for women, train professionals in gender-sensitive trauma care, and provide emotional, economic, and community support. Make their stories visible, present, and worthy of acknowledgment.
Women are not only victims – they are fighters, anchors of their communities. They hold the home, the children, and the hope. Over the past two years, they have stood both behind the lines and on the frontlines. But even warriors need a moment to rest, to lean. They need to hear their country say: “We see you. We are with you.”
This is our moment as a society to pause, to listen, and to act. If we abandon the women of the western Negev, we lose the heart of the south. However, if we create space for them and give resources and light, we will not only see their revival but also our own.
The writer is CEO of the Eden association, a nonprofit that, since the late 1990s, has specialized in trauma care for women and girls. Following October 7, it launched projects to document the voices of women from both the frontlines and the home front.