Abstract
Is sexual violence in the Slavic community a concern? As yet, there is no significant data available about the extent of sexual violence in the Slavic religious community that exists in Sacramento. A lack of both quantitative and qualitative data about the knowledge of this problem as well as perceptions of sexual violence within this community decreases the effectiveness of services provided by social workers. The purpose of this study is to shine light on the issue of the sexual violence in the Slavic religious community. For the purpose of this study, the researcher utilized both quantitative and qualitative descriptive methods and used both questionnaire and key informants interviews. Sources of Data Thirty-nine recent Slavic religious immigrants, both males and females, from 18 to 60 years old who arrived in the United States within the last twenty years were surveyed in this study. Five key informants including a social worker, a therapist, and three church ministers who worked with Slavic individuals were interviewed for this study. Conclusions Reached The findings of this study demonstrate Slavic religious immigrants’ hesitancy and desire to reject the idea that sexual violence might be happening in their community. The results show that sexual violence in this community is prevalent yet it is not regarded as a serious problem. Sexual violence is a taboo. Most Slavic women keep their victimization in secret; rarely do they disclose it to church ministers. Although all participants know that sexual violence is a crime, Slavic victims of sexual violence are unlikely to report this crime to law enforcement. Most participants believe that a woman invites sexual assault on herself due to her attire and, yet, they believe that women are not responsible for preventing sexual violence and do not provoke sexual violence on themselves. Their incoherent and conflicting responses reveal that Slavic religious immigrants do not know how to approach the issues of sexual violence and do not have a full understanding about it, its seriousness, and that it can be much nearer to them than they think. As a result, the issues of sexual violence in their community are being ignored and go unaddressed, just like an “elephant in the room.”