Older women, like younger women, can experience physical, sexual, financial and emotional abuse at the hands of their partners. They often endure abuse for many years for the sake of their families.

Family violence that a woman may have experienced throughout her life evolves and changes but does not necessarily cease as she reaches a mature age.

As women age, there is also increased vulnerability to abuse from adult children, grand children and carers which is often referred to as ‘elder abuse’.

Elder abuse is defined as abuse or neglect by someone in a position of trust. Violence against older women is understood by family violence services as family violence and through an analysis of gender, ageism and power and control.

There are several factors that colour the experiences of older women. Older women have lived in a world very different to the one we live in today. When they were younger there were clear social expectations and understandings of gender roles, in particular women’s responsibilities as wives and mothers, and their reduced status after separation and divorce. Historically, family violence was viewed as a private matter and this perspective was reflected in legislation and social policy with few options for women seeking an independent income. These factors have denied older women choices and have often resulted in women remaining with a violent partner.

For many older women today, barriers to living free from violence remain. Some older women fear that if they disclose their experience of family violence to health or welfare workers they may be institutionalised and this fear can keep women from seeking help. Others lack information: ‘Many older women remain unaware of choices related to legal interventions or believe they lack relevance to them. It is not so much choices as lack of choices that has created the situation where older women remain in a violent situation.’

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