"I'm Present but Absent": A Phenomenological Study of Children Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence in Arab Society in Israel.

Children exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) experience significant psychological consequences; however, the current literature is largely grounded in Western, individualist trauma frameworks. These perspectives often overlook how children interpret and negotiate violence in collectivist cultural contexts shaped by loyalty, honor, and silence. In Arab society in Israel, such cultural dynamics may profoundly shape children's lived experiences; however, their subjective perspectives remain insufficiently explored. This study explored the lived experiences of children exposed to IPV in Arab society in Israel, aiming to understand how they interpret and navigate violence in culturally embedded relational systems. Adopting a phenomenological and family systems lens, the study centered children's subjective voices and moral positioning. The study was based on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 15 children aged 8 to 11 (comprising 8 Muslim, 4 Christian, and 3 Druze participants), recruited through social services. Data were analyzed using an interpretive approach to capture children's meanings, experiences, and relational contexts. The findings reveal a multilayered experiential framework organized into four interrelated fields: the relational field, experiential field of ongoing threat, role field, and future-oriented field. Participants experienced violence not as discrete events but as a continuous condition shaping their sense of time, embodiment, and social engagement. Children emerged as active agents navigating complex moral tensions, striving to preserve family cohesion while managing fear and culturally reinforced expectations of silence. A notable finding is therapeutic parentification, whereby children assumed burdened roles to emotionally protect their mothers, de-escalate parental conflicts, and hold the family together. This study conceptualized children as morally situated agents in culturally embedded relational systems and underscores the need for culturally responsive interventions addressing both safety and the moral and emotional burdens these children carry.