Violence Against Older Women: Intergenerational Family Violence

Abstract

In recent years, increased awareness leading to much-needed research has expanded the evidence base, regarding violence experienced by older women in Australia. However, this research is primarily focused on intimate partner violence of older women. Less apparent is that substantial numbers of older women are also victims of another form of family violence, known variously as elder abuse, domestic violence and domestic abuse, which often involves intergenerational family violence, perpetrated against them in their later years by adult sons and daughters or other family members. This chapter will discuss how the dynamics of the parent–child relationship provide a unique context for the occurrence of violence against older women, and how prevention or intervention actions designed within an intimate partner violence framework are not always appropriate for these circumstances.