Issues in the Treatment of Children Who Have Lost a Family Member to Murder in the Arab Community in Israel

Abstract

Losing a loved one as a result of murder is a profoundly traumatic experience. This is even more precise with regard to children who have lost an immediate family member, such as a parent or a sibling. This experience may severely impact the children’s social and emotional lives, their functioning, adaptability, and psychological and physical development. In the last few years, public and therapeutic awareness in Israel has been raised with regard to the effect of murder cases on the families of the victims. In 2009, the Israeli government approved an assistance program for families bereaved by homicide in Israel. This article focuses on the treatment of grieving children in the Arab community, which touches upon the violent nature of the murder, requires awareness, and broadens the knowledge of children’s grieving processes, as well as religious, cultural, and social perceptions regarding death and treatment-seeking.