Living with the threat of house demolitions and its adverse psychological impacts: The case of arab-bedouin women in southern Israel

Background: Housing is a key social determinant of heath and is a fundamental human right. Land disputes between successive Israeli governments and its Arab-Bedouin indigenous minority have led to hundreds of government-initiated house demolitions each year. Hundreds more residences face on-going threat of demolition which can have adverse mental health outcomes that was not explored. Research Aim: We examined whether on-going threat of house demolition is associated with depression among Bedouin women. Research Methodology: We conducted personal interviews with 464 Bedouin women who visited Maternal and Child Health Clinics in 2008-2009. Threat of house demolition was assessed through a yes/no question: Is your house designated for demolition? Depression was measured by the short form of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). We conducted a multivariate analysis to assess the contribution of constant threat of house demolition to depression while considering other variables. Results: Women living in houses under constant threat of demolition had higher depression levels (p<0.001). They tend to live in temporary structures (85%) with a high degree of crowding and no electricity (95%) or water (74%). About 76% of houses designated for demolition were in villages which do not enjoy legal recognition and lack public transportation (69%). Constant threat of house demolition remained significant in the multivariate analysis even after adjustment for SEP and the residence physical features. Conclusions: Constant threat of house demolition is a violation of the basic human right of secure housing and it is linked to higher rates of depression among women.