(ynetnews) – The Immigrant Absorption Ministry and the Ethiopian National Project have launched a joint project aimed at fighting domestic violence and enhancing the Ethiopian community’s standing in Israeli society.

The project was introduced by the ministry and the ENP Tuesday, and is expected to address several key issues which are considered the thorn in the Ethiopian immigrants’ integration’s side.

The project wishes to explore questions such as the Israeli society’s real approach to Ethiopian immigrants; is there discrimination against Ethiopians when applying for positions in the public and private sector; is the multitude of associations dedicated to the immigrants’ absorption in society helping or harming the process, etc.

The Immigrant Absorption Ministry also hopes the project will be able to tackle questions such as the community’s representation in the media as a contributing factor to its integration, or lack thereof; the various ways in which to spring young community leadership; raising community awareness and activism; and above all –raising community awareness to domestic violence and the ways of dealing with it.

The Ethiopian sector in considered weaker than other immigrant sectors in Israeli society. Many in the community feel the cultural change is damaging its fabric and subsequently damaging to the domestic equilibrium customary in it.

The past five years have seen a concerning rise in domestic violence cases within Ethiopian families, as 10 Ethiopian women were murdered by their husbands.

In addition to helping the community fight the problem from within, the project will also train an initial 10 Ethiopian social workers, who will be stationed in 10 communities, as well as train several of the community’s spiritual leaders to act as mediators in cases of domestic disputes.