Old age, vulnerability and sexual violence: implications for knowledge and practice

Abstract

We conclude that marginalization results in inadequate redress to issues of violence and power that may manifest against the older person, and which leads to feelings of vulnerability. There are important implications for helping health professionals, especially nurses, for understanding the policy, theory and practice. The need for empirical research in this difficult area is paramount.

Variation in Late Adolescents’ Reports of Dating Violence Perpetration: A Dyadic Analysis

“…Interpersonal violence affects people from all walks of life including elders (Jones & Powell, 2006), same-sex couples (Ristock, 2002), and minority couples (Schnurr & Lohman, 2008). Studying interpersonal violence not only between romantic couples, but also between elders and caregivers may draw more needed attention to these issues.…”

Researching Sexual Violence against Older People: Reflecting on the use of Freedom of Information Requests in a Feminist Study

“…The exclusion of older women from sexual violence research and discourses has been noted by several commentators (Ball, 2005;Jeary, 2005;Jones and Powell, 2006;Lea et al, 2011;Mann et al, 2014) however there remains a lack of research and policy attention including those aged 60 and over and there have been few research studies specifically examining sexual violence against older populations.…”

Assessment of Sexual Assault in Clinical Practice: Available Screening Tools for Use with Different Adult Populations

“…First, they might be largely dependent on a caregiver to continually bathe, toilet, feed, and move them. Second, physical disabilities can severely hamper the ability to escape from a perpetrator (Carmody, 1991;Jones & Powell, 2006 sexuality in these special populations; for instance, many people might assume that no one would take advantage of intellectually disabled adults or that elderly adults with disabilities have sexual problems (Carmody, 1991). Finally, adults with disabilities and elderly individuals are often lonely and socially isolated.…”

“…Elderly adults are particularly susceptible to sexual perpetrators because of their dependence on caregivers, impaired ability to escape from a perpetrator (Carmody, 1991;Jones & Powell, 2006), social isolation, and potential desire to please the perpetrators of the abuse (Carmody, 1991). According to the National Crime and Victimization Survey, 3,270 of the 261,000 rapes and sexual assaults reported in 2000 were experienced by individuals aged 65 and older (Burgess, 2006;U.S.…”