After a woman emerges from the ritual bath (mikveh) and wraps herself in a towel, says mikveh attendant Daniella Salomon (below right), “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 Center 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 (pictured above), 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.

Here are the links:

The Jewish Week: https://jewishweek.timesofisrael.com/has-anyone-hurt-you/

Dr. Bauman’s podcast:  http://radiomd.com/audio-player/hadassah/item/37785-sexual-