Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Perceptions of Domestic Violence Against Older Women: When Sexism Is Compounded by Ageism

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Violence Against Older Women, Volume I

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Victims and Victimology ((PSVV))

Abstract

This chapter will examine domestic violence, which is a lifelong experience of women, and raise the following question: why is violence against older women (VOW) an invisible social problem and what is the role of sexist and ageist attitudes in this? This analysis contributes to the unpacking of culturally produced barriers through examining how the intersection of gender and age is constructed by different stakeholders and older women victims, as well as professionals working with abused women. Through secondary analysis of the results of previous research, statistical data, grey literature and analysis of the results of original qualitative research conducted in Lithuania in 2017 by authors, this chapter considers the reasons why older women (OW) remain ‘behind the curtain’ in the struggle against domestic violence. This will help to raise the awareness of this issue, which in turn would encourage the creation of services that satisfy the needs of OW and contribute to the assurance of their well-being.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Target group was limited to women aged 21–69.

  2. 2.

    Target group was limited to women aged 18–74.

  3. 3.

    In describing rights of victims of domestic violence, women are portrayed as a monolithic group, no age differentiated.

  4. 4.

    Age of women—victims of domestic violence not discussed.

  5. 5.

    Women are mentioned as an aggregated group—no age indicated.

  6. 6.

    Women are portrayed as ageless.

  7. 7.

    No data on the age of survey participants provided.

References

  • Aguonytė, V., Beržanskytė, A., Stonienė, L., Narkauskaitė, L., Valentienė, J., & Varvuolienė, R. (2013). Pagalba smurtą artimoje aplinkoje patyrusioms moterims. Visuomenės sveikata, 3(62), 68–75.

    Google Scholar 

  • Band-Winterstein, T. (2015). Aging in the shadow of violence: A phenomenological conceptual framework for understanding elderly women who experienced lifelong IPV. Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect, 27(4–5), 303–327.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beaulaurier, R. L., Seff, L. R., & Newman, F. L. (2008). Barriers to help-seeking for OW who experience intimate partner violence: A descriptive model. Journal of Women & Aging, 20(3/4), 231–248.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biggs, S., & Haapala, I. (2010). Theoretical development and elder mistreatment. Ageing International, 35(3), 171–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biggs, S., Lowenstein, A., & Hendricks, J. (Eds.). (2003). The need for theory: Critical approaches to social gerontology. Amityville, New York: Baywood.

    Google Scholar 

  • Birdsey, E., & Snowball, L. (2013, October). Reporting violence to police: A survey of victims attending domestic violence services (Crime and Justice Statistics/Bureau Brief, Issue Paper No. 91). NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research. https://www.women.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/280912/Reporting_Violence_to_the_Police_-_BOCSAR_survey.pdf.

  • Calasanti, T., & King, N. (2011). A feminist lens on the third age: Refining the framework. In D. Carr & K. Komp (Eds.), Gerontology in the era of the third age (pp. 67–85). New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Calasanti, T. M., & Slevin, K. F. (Eds.). (2006). Age matters: Realigning feminist thinking. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • CeaD’Ancona, M. Á. (2017, September). Measuring multiple discrimination through a survey-based methodology. Social Science Research, 67, 239–251.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A Black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory, and antiracist politics. The University of Chicago Legal Forum, 140, 139–167.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241–1299.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Donder, L. D., Lang, G., Ferreira-Alves, J., Penhale, B., Tamutiene, I., & Luoma, M. L. (2016). Risk factors of severity of abuse against older women in the home setting: A multinational European study. Journal of Women & Aging, 28(6), 540–554.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Donder, L., Lang, G., Luoma, M. L., Penhale, B., Ferreira Alves, J., Tamutiene, I., et al. (2011). Perpetrators of abuse against OW: A multi-national study in Europe. The Journal of Adult Protection, 13(6), 302–314.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elo, S., & Kyngäs, H. (2008). The qualitative content analysis process. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 62(1), 107–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). (2014). Violence against women: An EU-wide survey—Main results. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. Retrieved from: http://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2014/violence-against-women-eu-wide-survey-main-results-report.

  • Eurostat. (2017). Population on 1 January by age and sex. Code: [demo_pjan]. Retrieved from: http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=demo_pjan&lang=en.

  • Finfgeld-Connett, D. (2014). Intimate partner abuse among older women: Qualitative systematic review. Clinical Nursing Research, 23(6), 664–683.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fredvang, M., & Biggs, S. (2012). The rights of older persons: Protection and gaps under human rights law (Social Policy Working Paper No. 16). Melbourne: Brotherhood of St Laurence and Centre for Public Policy.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gover, A. R., Welton-Mitchell, C., Belknap, J., & Deprince, A. P. (2013). When abuse happens again: Women’s reasons for not reporting new incidents of intimate partner abuse to law enforcement. Women & Criminal Justice, 23(2), 99–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harnois, C. E. (2015). Jeopardy, consciousness, and multiple discrimination: Intersecting inequalities in contemporary Western Europe. Sociological Forum, 30(4), 971–994.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hightower, J., Smith, M. J., & Hightower, H. C. (2006). Hearing the voices of abused OW. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 46(3–4), 205–227.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, M. (2005). The social construction of old age as a problem. In M. Johnson (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of Age and Ageing. New York: Cambridge.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Jonkarytė, A. (2003). Moteris ir vyras: šeima, vaikai, darbas, lyčių vaidmenys. In V. Stankūnienė, A. Jonkarytė, S. Mikulionienė, A. A. Mitrikas, & A. Maslauskaitė (Eds.), Šeimos revoliucija? Iššūkiai šeimos politikai (pp. 99–122). Vilnius: Socialinių tyrimų institutas.

    Google Scholar 

  • King, D. K. (1988). Multiple jeopardy, multiple consciousness: The context of a Black feminist ideology. Signs, 14(2), 42–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lang, G. G., De Donder, L., Penhale, B., Ferreira-Alves, J., Tamutiene, I., & Luoma, M. (2014). Measuring older adults’ abuse: Evaluation of formative indicators to promote brevity. Educational Gerontology, 40(7), 531–542.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lietuvos Respublikos Apsaugos nuo smurto artimoje aplinkoje įstatymas. (2011). m. gegužės 26 d., Nr., XI-1425 (Valstybės žinios, 2011-06-14, Nr. 72-3475).

    Google Scholar 

  • Lietuvos Respublikos Socialinės apsaugos ir darbo ministro įsakymas. (2012). Dėl specializuotos pagalbos centrų veiklos aprašo patvirtinimo (Valstybės žinios, Nr. 54-2676).

    Google Scholar 

  • Lietuvos sociologų draugija. (2014). The code of ethics of Lithuanian Sociological Association (in Lithuanian). Available at: http://sociology.lt/etikos-kodeksas/.

  • Lundy, M., & Grossman, S. (2009). Domestic violence service users: A comparison of older and younger women victims. Journal of Family Violence, 24(5), 297–309.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maslauskaitė, A. (2003). Pora, santuoka, lytis: tarpasmeninių santykių perspektyva. In V. Stankūnienė, A. Jonkarytė, S. Mikulionienė, A. A. Mitrikas, & A. Maslauskaitė (Eds.), Šeimos revoliucija? Iššūkiai šeimos politikai (pp. 122–138). Vilnius: Socialinių tyrimų institutas.

    Google Scholar 

  • Naguib, T. (2016). Multiple discrimination in Swiss legal discourse. Sociologia Del Diritto, 2, 139–168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nusikalstamų veikų žinybinis registras (NVŽR), forma NUK_DĖLSMURTO-ITĮ. (2017). Departmental Register of Criminal Offences Interneto prieiga. https://www.ird.lt/lt/paslaugos/nusikalstamu-veiku-zinybinio-registro-nvzr-paslaugos/ataskaitos-1/nusikalstamumo-ir-ikiteisminiu-tyrimu-statistika-1.

  • Peguero, A. A., & Lauck, A. M. (2008). Older adults and their vulnerabilities to the exposure of violence. Sociology Compass, 2(1), 62–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryach, K., Wenndy, L., & Krekula, C. (2015). Gendered ageing in the new economy: Introduction to special issue. Gender, Work and Organization, 22(5), 437–444.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sargeant, M. (2011). Age discrimination and diversity: Multiple discrimination from an age perspective. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Scott, M., McKie, L., Morton, S., Seddon, E., & Wosoff, F. (2004). Older women and domestic violence in Scotland … ‘and for 39 years I got on with it’. Edinburgh: Health Scotland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stonienė, L., Aguonytė, V., & Narkauskaitė, L. (2012). Smurto prieš moteris paplitimas ir priežastys. Visuomenės sveikata, 2(57), 8–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stonienė, L., Aguonytė, V., & Narkauskaitė, L. (2013). Intymaus partnerio smurtą patyrusių moterų tipai. Visuomenės sveikata, 2(61), 56–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Straka, S. M., & Montminy, L. (2006). Responding to the needs of OW experiencing domestic violence. Violence Against Women, 12(3), 251–267.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tamutienė, I., De Donder, L., Penhale, B., Lang, G., Ferreira-Alves, J., & Luoma, M. (2013). Help seeking behaviour of abused OW (cases of Austria, Belgium, Finland, Lithuania and Portugal). Filosofija, Sociologija, 24(4), 217–225.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vasiliauskienė, L. H., Dirmotaitė, E., & Vasiliauskaitė, Z. (2016). Metodinės rekomendacijos specializuotos pagalbos centrų dabuotojams, savanoriams bei apsaugos nuo smurto artimoje aplinkoje įstatymą įgyvendinančių institucijų darbuotojams ir specialistams. Išleista LR Socialinės apsaugos ir darbo ministerijos lėšomis. Vilnius: Vilniaus moterų namai.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolkenstein, B. H., & Sterman, L. (1998). Unmet needs of OW in a clinic population: The discovery of possible long-term sequelae of domestic violence. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 29(4), 341–348. https://doi.org/10.1037/0735-7028.29.4.341.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organisation (WHO). (1997). Violence against women: Definition and scope of the problem. http://www.who.int/gender/violence/v4.pdf.

  • Žmogaus teisių stebėjimo institutas. (2003). Žmogaus teisių įgyvendinimas Lietuvoje 2003: Apžvalga (pp. 57–59). Vilnius: Žmogaus teisių stebėjimo institutas.

    Google Scholar 

  • Žmogaus teisių stebėjimo institutas. (2009–2010). Žmogaus teisių įgyvendinimas Lietuvoje 2009–2010: Apžvalga (pp. 18–20). Vilnius: Žmogaus teisių stebėjimo institutas.

    Google Scholar 

  • Žmogaus teisių stebėjimo institutas. (2011–2012). Žmogaus teisių įgyvendinimas Lietuvoje 2011–2012: Apžvalga (pp. 20–27). Vilnius: Žmogaus teisių stebėjimo institutas.

    Google Scholar 

  • Žmogaus teisių stebėjimo institutas. (2013–2014). Žmogaus teisių įgyvendinimas Lietuvoje 2013–2014: Apžvalga (pp. 43–49). Vilnius: Žmogaus teisių stebėjimo institutas.

    Google Scholar 

  • Žmogaus teisių stebėjimo institutas. (2014). Nusikaltimų aukų teisių direktyva: naujas požiūris į artimųjų smurto aukas. Vilnius: Žmogaus teisių stebėjimo institutas.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lithuanian Social Research Centre, Vilnius, Lithuania

    Sarmitė Mikulionienė

  2. Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania

    Ilona Tamutienė

Authors
  1. Sarmitė Mikulionienė
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ilona Tamutienė
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sarmitė Mikulionienė .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Durham Law School, Durham University, Durham, UK

    Hannah Bows

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Mikulionienė, S., Tamutienė, I. (2019). Perceptions of Domestic Violence Against Older Women: When Sexism Is Compounded by Ageism. In: Bows, H. (eds) Violence Against Older Women, Volume I. Palgrave Studies in Victims and Victimology. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16601-4_2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16601-4_2

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-16600-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-16601-4

  • eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation