Cultural contexts are formative of and fundamental to how individuals understand, conceptualize, and act within a context of violence. Conceptually and methodologically, however, research from a culturally informed perspective on the experiences of teachers contending with the violence of child sexual abuse (CSA) in particular is broadly limited. As educators frequently confront cases of CSA in their everyday work, their ability to promote detection, disclosure intervention, and especially prevention gives them the potential to be agents of social change; however, while their responsibilities are critical, they are simultaneously members of their communities and cultures, and their interactions are bound by these dynamics. The purpose of the study is to analyze the experiences of Arab teachers in Israel who confront CSA in their everyday work. The findings are based on qualitative thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews conducted with 30 female Arab teachers working within the Arab school system in Israel. Results indicate that when facing CSA, the teachers experience an ongoing conflict between their cultural and professional codes, trapping them in a maze of intertwining and oppositional demands. On the one hand, they are constrained by the norm of protecting the honor and maintaining the status and reputation of those involved, including themselves; on the other hand, as empathetic professionals, they desire to aid their pupils. While the participants do not accept the status quo, they are effectively at a loss as to how to change it. In order find a way out of their entrapment in coping with CSA among their pupils, the only currently available path is to act as a lone hero; there is, however, the potential to foster the development of a secondary culture within the school to inaugurate cultural change in coping with CSA. Implications for future research, policy, and practice are discussed.

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This article explores the impact of poverty on working men in light of the great diversity of the working poor population. Grounded upon a social constructivist theoretical framework and a comparative qualitative study of the working poor in Israel, this article examines the construction of ‘waged work’ among low income, Israeli working men. To illuminate the complex intersection of masculinity, poverty and waged work with ethnic and cultural categories, this unique study examines four different groups of Israeli citizens, corresponding to the main sub-groups of the Israeli population: secular, ultra-Orthodox, and immigrant Jews and Arab Israeli citizens.The article has five sections. The literature review briefly introduces the intersection of masculinity, poverty and waged work, presents some background about the social construction of masculinity in the local context and concludes with a short review of the definition of ‘working poor’. The context section explains concisely the background of this study, including the uniqueness of the Israeli labour market and some short references to the different sub-groups in the study. The methodology section specifies the theoretical framework, and the data gathering and analysis methods. The findings section presents an analysis of emerging themes. Finally, the discussion elaborates on the interrelation between masculinity, poverty and waged work in light of the great diversity among the working poor and the uniqueness of the Israeli labour market.

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