Elder Abuse Scope
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The Scope of this Page by J. Bacon
The problem of gender-based violence is getting more attention across the world. Although, gender-based aspects of violence and abuse in later life are getting international attention uninstraw.org/en/research/ageing abuse specific to older women is still being ignored in many sectors working to combat gender-based violence.
Two-thirds (2/3) of victims of elder abuse are women. Therefore, the focus of this page is abuse of older persons with an emphasis on the abuse of older women* by partners, caregivers, children and grandchildren. For information on abuse of older women in institutions/long term care click here www.cno.org/pubs/oiotm. For general information on Elder Abuse see Elder Abuse in General Resources.
The overwhelming majority of victims of sexual and physical violence in later life are women and the majority of perpetrators are men (sons, male partners, grandsons). Often, a woman may have dealt with abuse at different points throughout her life, given the prevalence of gender-based violence, and aging may trigger and exacerbate these problems. Whether she is facing current or long-standing abuse, the barriers to getting help may seem insurmountable for an older woman.
The use of threats, coercion and violence by abusers to maintain control and get their needs met does not vary that much between child abusers and abusers of women and older persons. Prior victimization can be a predictor and co-factor for both victims being re-victimized and perpetrators acting out against others. Learning about these will help us all to develop appropriate strategies for intervention and to come up with new and innovative approaches to address the root causes of and prevent the abuse before it occurs. EWA is working towards creating a prevention and response framework that addresses the underlying and common causes and predictors of abuse across the life span for both victims and perpetrators.
We hope that these web pages will provide some resources and tools for professionals, service providers and the community to challenge themselves, network with others, learn from the work of other sectors working to end violence against women and children and other anti-oppression work and finally, to address some of the barriers faced by older women. We hope that the information here will be added to, critiqued, and expanded upon by others. We hope not only to focus on how older women can be kept safe, but on ways to hold perpetrators accountable for their actions. We hope these pages will contribute to systemic and societal change in this area.
These pages are dedicated to all those working to end violence and oppression across the world.
* Note: Although we refer mainly in the content of this page to older women as victims, we know that older men can also be victims of the same types of violence and abuses, including gay, bisexual and transgendered men and older men who face multiple barriers to service such as immigrant, refugee men and men of colour or men who are marginalized by poverty, isolation, disability, deafness and other barriers. Many of the same dynamics that apply in abuse of older women apply in cases of abuse of older men. Abuse of power and control by the perpetrator of the abuse; ageist and proprietary attitudes are often present and support distorted beliefs that contribute to the dehumanization of older persons. This dehumanized environment is where abuse occurs, often unchecked, at the hands of intimates, partners and ex-partners, children, grandchildren and caregivers.
The development of this page is made possible with the support of the Breaking the Cycle of Violence Grants Program at the CIty of Toronto.
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