Patriarchy, political enmity, and domestic violence: Exploring abusive mixed intimate partnerships in a conflict zone
| Author | Edna Erez,Revital Sela-Shayovitz,Peter R Ibarra |
| Published date | 01 September 2022 |
| Date | 01 September 2022 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/02697580221079961 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/02697580221079961
International Review of Victimology
2022, Vol. 28(3) 305 –329
© The Author(s) 2022
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DOI: 10.1177/02697580221079961
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Patriarchy, political enmity,
and domestic violence:
Exploring abusive mixed
intimate partnerships in a
conflict zone
Edna Erez
University of Illinois at Chicago, USA
Revital Sela-Shayovitz
Ono Academic College, Israel
Peter R Ibarra
University of Illinois at Chicago, USA
Abstract
Mixed couples face more marital conflict than endogamous couples. Drawing on intersectional
theory and narrative victimology, this study examines women’s accounts of abuse in mixed
heterosexual Arab/Palestinian–Israeli Jewish intimate partnerships amid the Israeli–Palestinian
conflict. The narratives of 25 women formerly in an abusive relationship are the primary data,
which are supplemented by a comprehensive list of calls seeking advice or intervention from a
non-governmental organization (NGO) that assists women in mixed relationships, and the NGO’s
recorded in-service training sessions during which social workers discuss clients’ plights and abuse
exposure. Consistent with research on mixed couples, the women’s narratives connect their
abuse to differences, dynamics, and tensions rooted in cultural, religious, and social beliefs and
practices. Importantly, the narratives also highlight how the Israeli–Palestinian conflict amplifies
and escalates the women’s abuse. Intersections of gender, religion, and nationality as well as life
in a conflict zone critically affect the abuse dynamic the women experience. The article concludes
with a discussion of the relevance of narrative victimology and political enmity for intersectional
approaches to domestic violence.
Corresponding author:
Edna Erez, Department of Criminology, Law, and Justice, University of Ilinois at Chicago, 1007 W. Harrison St. BSB Rm
4014A, Chicago, IL 60607, USA.
Email: eerez@uic.edu
1079961IRV0010.1177/02697580221079961International Review of VictimologyErez et al.
research-article2022
Article
306 International Review of Victimology 28(3)
Keywords
Mixed couples, intersectionality, domestic violence, political conflict, conflict zone, enmity,
Israeli Jew/Arab/Palestinian, narrative victimology
Introduction and theoretical framework
Violence against women, particularly domestic violence (DV) or intimate partner violence (IPV),1
is a global phenomenon that cuts across race, ethnicity, social class, religion, nationality, and geo-
graphical borders (Garcia-Moreno et al., 2005). DV/IPV takes multiple forms—emotional, physi-
cal, sexual, economic, and social—and its harmful impact on abused women and their children has
been well documented (e.g. Holt et al., 2008; Levendosky and Graham- Bermann, 2001).
Contemporary feminist criminology has employed the concept of ‘intersectionality’ (Crenshaw,
1991) to highlight how hierarchies of power are manifested through crisscrossing dimensions of
social advantage and disadvantage, including through race/ethnicity, gender, class, nationality, and
immigration status (Burgess-Proctor, 2006; Erez et al., 2009). Across disciplines, scholarship on
intersectionality has revealed how forms of privilege and subjugation, rooted in social identities
and positions, operate simultaneously via structural inequalities and social interactions to shape
women’s experiences of abuse, justice, and injustice (Crenshaw, 1991; Sokoloff and Dupont,
2005). Research on DV/IPV has confirmed that individual attributes, intersecting with familial,
communal, socio-cultural factors and political contexts, contribute to, or exacerbate abuse (e.g.
Erez et al., 2009). These characteristics and contexts, in turn, influence social and criminal justice
responses to abuse (e.g. Erez et al., 2015; Snajdr, 2007).
This article extends intersectional work by considering the significance of ethno-religious iden-
tities in conflict zones (Henne and Troshynski, 2013), using narrative victimology (Pemberton
et al., 2019) as a framework to explicate women’s accounts of abusive mixed intimate relation-
ships. Research on couples in inter-religious, inter-racial, or inter-ethnic relationships suggests that
they face disagreements and conflicts stemming from seemingly incompatible beliefs and prac-
tices, including over child rearing (Binghalib, 2007; Luke, 2003; Taylor Curtis and Ellison, 2002).
Compared to endogamous couples, mixed marriages are also likelier to end up in divorce or dis-
solution (e.g. Kaplan and Herbst-Debby, 2017; Racin, 2006; Shahar, 2017). Research on attitudes
toward mixed marriages in highly conflicted societies has found that they receive little support
from both partners’ social networks and become heavily burdened (Hastings, 1990). Research on
different religious groups in Israel (Muslim, Jewish, Christian) documents objections to intermar-
riages, with women in such relationships often being perceived as a ‘national threat’ (Erez, 2019)
or as fraternizing with ‘the enemy’ (Fogiel-Bijaoui, 2017a; Yahya et al., 2016).
Research has also documented the impact of political conflict on the level of DV/IPV in the
majority and/or minority populations (Doyle and McWilliams, 2020), noting the risk of commu-
nity violence toward women and their children in mixed relationships during flare-ups of inter-
group conflict (Ellsberg et al., 2021; Hartley, 2010). Prior studies have also identified unique DV/
IPV risk factors associated with political conflict and documented how exposure to conflict affects
or magnifies risk factors (e.g. Clark et al., 2010; McWilliams, 1997). Research has also addressed
legal and police responses to IPV/DV in conflict-ridden areas (e.g. Erez et al., 2015; Snajdr, 2007).
However, few studies have investigated how political enmity and ongoing protracted violent con-
flict are experienced by women in abusive mixed relationships, where the partners’ natal groups
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