“A week after we got married, my husband became violent. He flew into rages and controlled every aspect of my life. I couldn’t have my own money, have a driver’s licence, go to school – I was trapped for 15 years.”
Fraidy Reiss, a 45-year-old mother of two daughters who lives in New Jersey, grew up in an insular, ultra-orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn, New York. When she was just 19, she entered into an arranged marriage with a 22-year-old man who was a stranger to her. Reiss had been introduced to him through a matchmaker. After they were married, they moved to an ultra-orthodox community in New Jersey where they both had family members living.