WUNRN
Neglect, Abuse
& Violence Against Older Women - Report
Direct Link to Full 65-Page 2013
Report:
The
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA), together
with its focal point on ageing in the Division for Social Policy and
Development (DSPD), recently published a document titled Neglect, Abuse and
Violence against Older Women. The publication aims at presenting an overview
of the current state of knowledge about abuse of older women. Different forms
of abuse are looked at, including neglect, physical, sexual and psychological
abuse, financial abuse and exploitation and self-neglect. The publication also
discusses the challenges associated to establishing prevalence rates on abuse
of older women; it identifies risk factors and provides a summary of study
findings on the consequences of abuse. Furthermore, it provides an overview of
preventive measures (plus findings on their effectiveness) for addressing the
issue, and it examines the main approaches to combatting violence against older
women, as well as key interventions (policies and programmes) and their
effectiveness.
Contents
Introduction ..
I. Dominant Frameworks for Understanding Neglect, Abuse and Violence
Against
Women
II. Definitions: Differences and Accordance
A. The purpose of definitions ..
B. Older adult mistreatment (social gerontology)
C. Abuse of vulnerable adults (adult protection) ..
D. Intimate partner violence (IPV) against girls and women of all ages ..................
III. Forms of Abuse ..
A. Neglect .............
B. Physical abuse ..
C. Sexual abuse .
D. Psychological abuse .............
E. Financial abuse and exploitation ..
F. Self-neglect ...
G. Perpetrators of Neglect, Abuse and Violence Against Older Women .
IV. Prevalence, Resources and Access to Data ..
A. Definitions of prevalence and incidence ...
B. Prevalence data resources and access to data
C. Prevalence research on the abuse of older women (social gerontology) ..
D. Definitions of abuse of older women in prevalence studies .
E. Prevalence research on abuse of vulnerable older adults (adult protection)
F. Prevalence research on intimate partner violence (IPV) and older women
G. Prevalence research in Asia ..
V. Health Implications
VI. Risk Factors
A. Risk factors identified for older women victims of abuse from prevalence studies
conducted in the European Union ..
B. Risk factors for female victims from other prevalence and research studies
C. Characteristics of perpetrators ...
VII. Gaps in Research ...
A. Older widows, social exclusion and harmful traditional practices ...
B. Older women and the criminal justice system ..
C. Abused older immigrant and refugee women ..
VIII. Findings from Qualitative Studies on Older Women and Abuse
A. The voices of older women and their service providers on factors related to neglect,
abuse and violence ..........................
B. Barriers to older women victims seeking and getting help ..
a. External barriers ..
b. Internal barriers ..
C. Main needs of older women victims and perceived service gaps ..
D. Law enforcement and the justice system ...
E. Knowledge of rights
IX. Policy Responses ............
A. Prevention
a. Universal preventive initiatives ..
b. Selective preventive initiatives ..
c. Indicated preventive initiatives ..
B. Interventions ...
a. Interventions for older women caregivers of abusive men
b. Services for older women with care needs ............
c. Legal services for older women victims of abuse ..
d. Support groups for older women victims of abuse
e. Domestic violence shelters for older women victims of abuse ..
f. Training and education on abuse in later life for professionals and students
g. Interventions aimed at perpetrators ...
h. National legislative approaches
i. The United Nations ...
Conclusion .
Bibliography ..