After a woman emerges from the ritual bath (mikveh) and wraps herself in a towel, says mikveh attendant Daniella Salomon (left), “I keep an eye out” for anything unusual.
The role of the mikvah attendant in Israel has undergone a transformation in recent years. As an active advocate for women’s health, the Hadassah Medical Organization partnered with the Jerusalem-based Eden Center to offer special training that enables the attendants to identify medical problems and possible abuse.
As Dr. Dvora Bauman (right), a senior obstetrician/gynecologist at Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem and director of its Bat-Ami Center for Victims of Sexual Abuse, explains, if an attendant sees a bruise or other signs of trauma on a woman’s body, “it’s time to gently ask, ‘Has anyone hurt you?’ It may be the only time a woman will disclose these things.”
Read more in The New York Jewish Week.
Listen to Dr. Bauman’s podcast about sexual abuse.
Learn more about the Hadassah Medical Organization.
