Economic violence against Arab-Palestinian women in Israel: Coping mechanisms in social, cultural and structural contexts

This paper aims to draw attention to the types of economic violence, particularly coercive debt, experienced by Arab-Palestinian women in Israel - a situation where economic resources are limited and controlled by the abusive spouse. Through semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted in 2022 with Arab-Palestinian women in Israel, as well as analysis of several legal cases (n = 21), we provide a glimpse at manifestations of economic violence, focusing on the participants' experiences and definitions, as well as the coping mechanisms they employ. Such abuse needs to be examined against the background of multiple positions of marginality, vulnerability and civic exclusion these women experience, shaped by the patriarchal regimes of both social institutions and their spouses/ex-spouses. The study enhanced our understanding of the transparency of economic violence, particularly coercive debt, highlighting the diverse coping strategies used by the women affected by it, with consequences persisting even after they break the silence or leave their abusive spouses.