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Wife Assault in Old Age: Coming out of Obscurity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2010

Jane Aronson ,
Cindy Thornewell  and
Karen Williams
Jane Aronson
Affiliation:
McMaster University
Cindy Thornewell
Affiliation:
McMaster University
Karen Williams
Affiliation:
McMaster University
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Abstract

A review of gerontological literature on elder abuse and feminist literature on wife assault points to the conceptual and practice divisions that have separated attention to age and gender and, thus, obscured older women's experiences of abuse by their male partners. The first person account of a woman who left her abusive husband in her 70s and the supporting observations of a group of concerned service providers are introduced to bridge these conceptual divisions and to call attention to the social processes that hide and perpetuate wife assault in old age. With a view to developing methodologies and practices that make visible and challenge the conditions that sustain abuse of older women, directions for future approaches to research and service are considered.

Résumé

Une récension des écrits en gérontologie sur l'abus et les mauvais traitements faits aux personnes âgées et de la littérature féministe sur l'agression à l'égard des épouses révèle des différences conceptuelles et pratiques qui ont isolé l'âge et le sexe, mettant ainsi dans l'ombre les expériences des femmes plus âgées victimes d'abus par leur partenaire. Le témoignage d'une femme ayant quitté son époux violent lorsqu'elle était âgée dans la soixante-dizaine et les observations à l'appui d'un groupe de prestateurs de services concernés sont présentés pour combler ces écarts conceptuels et pour mettre en lumière les processus sociaux qui cachent et perpétuent la violence faite aux femmes à un âge avancé. En vue de concevoir des méthodologies et des pratiques qui présentent et remettent en question les conditions qui favorisent la violence faite aux femmes plus âgées, les auteurs étudient des possibilités d'orientations qui favoriseront l'élaboration de nouvelles méthodes à l'intention des secteurs de la recherche et des services.

Keywords

WomenAgeAbuseViolence.Femmesâgeabusviolence.
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 14 , supplement S2 , Été/Summer 1995 , pp. 72 - 88
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 1995

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