Executive Summary

Domestic abuse among older women in Scotland remains largely hidden and systemically underreported. While official figures indicate that over 22% of domestic violence incidents reported to the Scottish police involve women over the age of 40, general public services and policies often fail to recognize or accommodate older survivors.

Overview of the Report

Key findings from the research include:

The Elder Abuse vs. Domestic Violence Divide: Intimate partner violence against older women is frequently miscategorized as “elder abuse,” leading to medicalized, health-based interventions that focus on vulnerability or carer stress rather than survivor safety, power dynamics, and victim advocacy.

Prolonged Exposure and Deep Dependency: Many older women suffer long-term abuse spanning decades, compounded by traditional attitudes toward marriage, lack of independent financial resources, and unfamiliarity with modern support networks.

Service Barriers and Invisibility: Domestic violence services traditionally focus on younger women with dependent children, leaving older women—or those with adult children—with few tailored choices, such as appropriate refuge accommodation or targeted outreach.

Key Recommendations

To effectively address domestic abuse among older women, policy and service strategies should focus on the following key areas:

Integrate Gender and Age Frameworks: Reframe services to recognize that older women face gender-based intimate partner violence, ensuring interventions prioritize safety, legal rights, and advocacy rather than solely medical care.

Expand Service Choices and Refuge Options: Develop diverse, flexible housing and support choices tailored to older women, moving beyond models designed exclusively for families with young children.

Improve Cross-Sector Training and Coordination: Educate healthcare professionals, police, social work, and aged care staff to identify long-term domestic abuse in older populations and facilitate warm referrals to specialist services.

Conduct Targeted Outreach: Implement public awareness and outreach campaigns designed specifically to inform older women of their rights and available resources.

Fill Data and Research Gaps: Enhance national data collection systems to capture age-disaggregated statistics across housing, criminal justice, and social services, while centering survivor voices in future research.