violence and abuse against older persons
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Violence and Abuse against Older Persons. Silvia Perel-Levin ILC GA, INPEA Chair , NGO Committee on Ageing-Geneva New York, OEWG on Ageing, 31 July 2014. WHO/INPEA 2002. Community and Societal Abuse - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Violence and Abuse against Older Persons
Silvia Perel-Levin
ILC GA, INPEAChair, NGO Committee on Ageing-Geneva
New York, OEWG on Ageing, 31 July 2014
Types of abuse characteristics
1. PhysicalInfliction of pain or injury (slapping, hitting, kicking,
force-feeding, restraint…)
2. Psychological/emotional abuse
Infliction of mental anguish (verbal aggression or
threat, social isolation, humiliating statements…).
3. Financial/material abuse
Improper exploitation and/or use of funds or
resources(theft, coercion to deprive the older person of
his or her assets)
4. Sexual abuse
Non-consensual contact of any kind (Suggestive talk,
forced sexual activity, touching, fondling)
5. Neglect
Intentional or unintentional failure to meet Older
Persons’ needs (failure to provide adequate food,
clothing, shelter, medical care, hygiene, or social
stimulation).
Alternative classification ?
Neglect isolation, abandonment and social exclusion
Violationof human, legal and medical rights
Deprivation of choices, decisions, status finances and respect
WHO/INPEA 2002
Types of abuse characteristics
6. Societal
abuse
Ageism, lack of appropriate pensions, discrimination
Community and Societal Abuse
• Abandonment, property grabbing, forced marriages, accusations of witchcraft, ejection from their homes
• Older women face tenure insecurity when inheritance laws do not protect them
• Witch-burning as method of controlling older women and preventing them from inheriting property.
Harmful Traditional practices
• Special Rapporteurs on violence against women, described some harmful practices against older women following country visits.
• HelpAge International reported about witchcraft accusations, used as excuse to justify violence.
• The Witchcraft & Human Rights Information Network reported accusations in 41 countries.
Working Group on discrimination against women in law and practice (A/HRC/26/39)
• Women’s poverty and quality of life in older age: culmination of women’s life course
• Situation in retirement: test for the quality of women’s economic and social life.
• Discriminatory laws and practice: forced early retirement, Gender pension gap, dependency
CEDAW General Rec. 27 on older women
States parties have an obligation to draft legislation recognizing and prohibiting violence….
Sexual Violence in Eastern DRC
Age Number Percentage
< 15 252 5.9
16-24 809 18.8
25-34 841 19.5
35-44 988 22.9
45-54 752 17.4
55-64 211 4.9
> 65 458 10.6
Total 4,311 100
Harvard Humanitarian Initiative /Oxfam 2010
The European Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA)
EU-wide Survey on Violence against women, 2014Citing source: FRA gender-based VAW survey dataset 2012
Experience of physical and/or sexual violence
WHO, 2013
Lifetime Prevalence of intimate partner violence by age group among ever-partnered women - WHO
Age group, years
Prevalence % 95% CI, %
15-19 29.4 26.8 to 32.1
20-24 31.6 29.2 to 33.9
25-29 32.3 30.0 to 34.6
30-34 31.1 28.9 to 33.4
35-39 36.6 30.0 to 43.2
40-44 37.8 30.7 to 44.9
45-49 29.2 26.9 to 31.5
50-54 25.5 18.6 to 32.4
55-59 15.1 6.1 to 24.1
60-64 19.6 9.6 to 29.5
65-69 22.2 12.8 to 31.6
The extent of elder abuseEstimated prevalence
Old, conservative rates: 4 to 6%
Latin America and the Caribbean 6 to 37%
China and South Korea 6% to 44%.
India (a HelpAge study in 20 cities) 31%
• Over 50% during 4 years in multiple forms
• 24% almost daily
(HelpAge India, 2012)1.67% in Rajasthan to 77% in Madhya Pradesh
The extent of the problem, India
Ecological model
Societal Community Relationship
IndividualIndividualRelationship
CommunitySocietal
Where do we start?
Interdisciplinary research and intergenerational action at all levels
Risk factors
Societal Community Relationship
IndividualIndividualRelationshi
pCommunity
Societal
Dementia / DepressionExperienced abuse/Aggression/Dependence / disabilityGender / AgeIsolation/ Substance dependence
Risk factors
Societal Community Relationship
IndividualIndividualRelationshipCommunity
Societal
Financial Dependence Emotional dependence Living arrangements Long-term abuse/violence Intergenerational transmission?
Risk factors
Societal Community Relationship
IndividualIndividualRelationshi
pCommunity
Societal
Social isolationConcentration of povertyWidowhoodWitchcraft accusations Lack of support networksErosion of intergenerational relations
Risk factors
Societal Community Relationship
IndividualIndividualRelationshi
pCommunity
Societal
Ageism, wide discriminationSexism/ racismSocio-economic factors/concentration of povertyInheritance systems/ WidowhoodMigration of the youngWeak police/criminal Justice
Concluding remarks
Scientific rigour humanistic model?
Towards a UN study on violence and abuse against older persons