Ending gender-based violence: don’t overlook older women

Gendered violence does not discriminate. It can impact all women, but older women and women with disability in particular are often overlooked and invisible in current conversations about violence against women in Australia.

Age Discrimination Commissioner Robert Fitzgerald said the experiences of older women and women with disability tend to be underrepresented in the reporting on gendered violence.

“Based on police data regarding reported assaults, in most states and territories, between 37% to 51% of persons over 65 were allegedly assaulted by a family member or intimate partner,” he said.

“Older women are more likely to experience abuse than older men, with over 65% of reports received by the NSW Ageing and Disability Commission in the last quarter concerning older women.