Daoud Nihaya, Jabareen Yousef
Lecturer at the Faculty of Health Science, Ben-Gurion University, Beer Sheva, Israel.
Lecturer at Tel-Hai College and the University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
Health Hum Rights. 2014 Jun 14;16(1):179-91.
Housing is a fundamental human right and a social determinant of health. According to international law, indigenous peoples are entitled to special housing and health rights and protections. In Israel, land disputes between the government and Arab Bedouins, an indigenous minority, have resulted in ongoing demolitions of Arab Bedouin homes, with thousands more homes threatened. While demolitions could expose this population to mental health problems, research linking house demolition and health is scarce. In this paper, we draw on a human rights perspective to describe this housing instability and examine the association between the threat of house demolition and depressive symptoms (DS) among 464 Arab Bedouin women. We conclude that having their house under threat of demolition is an important determinant of poor mental health among Bedouin women. Any efforts to decrease DS among these women will have to take place alongside efforts to stop this practice.
住房是一项基本人权，也是健康的社会决定因素。根据国际法，原住民有权享有特殊的住房和健康权利及保护。在以色列，政府与作为原住民少数群体的阿拉伯贝都因人之间的土地纠纷导致阿拉伯贝都因人家园不断被拆除，还有数千所房屋面临威胁。虽然房屋拆除可能使这一人群面临心理健康问题，但将房屋拆除与健康联系起来的研究却很少。在本文中，我们从人权角度描述这种住房不稳定状况，并研究464名阿拉伯贝都因妇女中房屋拆除威胁与抑郁症状之间的关联。我们得出结论，房屋面临拆除威胁是贝都因妇女心理健康不佳的一个重要决定因素。要降低这些妇女的抑郁症状，就必须在制止这种做法的同时开展相关努力。
