15th June is Elder Abuse Awareness Day
With older populations increasing, levels of elder abuse can sadly be expected to grow too.
‘While the taboo topic of elder abuse has started to gain visibility across the world, it remains one of the least investigated types of violence in national surveys’ – United Nations.
Durham University’s Centre for Research into Violence and Abuse (CRiVA) has been working with Rape Crisis, Age UK and the Police to better understand Sexual Violence against older people.
The research found ‘there are around 150 rape and serious sexual assaults involving an adult aged 60 or over reported to the police each year across England, Wales and Northern Ireland … it is likely that the true figure is actually much higher, as rape is one of the most underreported crimes.’
Older people may experience specific barriers to disclosing abuse:
- Growing up when rape within marriage was legal (pre-1991)
- Feeling uncomfortable reporting to people younger than themselves
- Lack of awareness of services
SARC Teesside supports clients of all ages. Older clients sometimes come to us regarding abuse that happened a long time ago but in other cases, it happened much more recently.
Let’s not forget that anyone can be a victim of rape.
#noagelimitonabuse #elderabuseareyouaware #ElderAbuseDay2019
Information Leaflets
Durham University – CRiVA – Anyone Can be a Victim of Rape – Guidance for Professionals
Rape Crisis Tyneside and Northumberland – Sexual Violence in Later Life – Information for Survivors
