Africa: The Hidden Crisis of Violence Against Older Women - and What Can Be Done to Prevent It

For the first time in history, adults aged over 60 now outnumber children under five - and are projected to outnumber all youth by 2050. Older women are the fastest-growing demographic globally. Yet, when it comes to preventing violence, they are often overlooked. World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on 15 June aims to shine a light on how violence affects older people. Like all forms of violence, elder abuse is not gender-neutral. Below, we explore how age and gender intersect, and what can be done to better protect the rights of women at every age.

Violence against older women is driven by ageism and sexism

Gender and age discrimination can compound and reinforce each other throughout the course of a woman's life. In addition to harmful gender attitudes, women often face structural and systemic barriers that accumulate over a lifetime and increase the risk of violence. For many older women, violence is not a new experience: it is one that they have faced for decades. Those living with disabilities, LGBTQI+ women, Indigenous women, migrants, displaced women and those in rural or remote areas are even more vulnerable to abuse.

The experiences of older women are often uncounted

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At least one in three women will experience violence in her lifetime, but the data is incomplete or even absent when it comes to older women. Indeed, women over 60 are often systematically excluded from research, surveys and institutional agendas. For example, Demographic and Health Surveys, which are among the most widely used sources of gender-based violence data, tend to focus on women between the ages of 15 and 49. This gap hinders our ability to understand the scale of the problem, as well as to develop evidence-based policies, laws and services that could better protect older women.

Older women face barriers to reporting

In addition to being left out of data collection, older women face individual barriers to reporting violence and seeking help. They may not identify their experiences as abuse, may be dependent on perpetrators for care or financial support, and they face shame, stigma and the risk of not being believed - particularly where violence occurs within the family or in formal care settings.

Age, gender and economic insecurity

Older women are more likely than men to live in poverty and economic insecurity, increasing their vulnerability to violence. Gendered inequalities accumulate over time due to reduced access to education, the gender pay gap and greater care responsibilities. Nearly half of all older persons worldwide receive no pension. Where pensions do exist, women often receive less financial support due to interrupted or reduced employment (frequently from taking time out of the workforce to raise children), unpaid caregiving and exclusion from contributory schemes. Inequalities in land, property and inheritance rights can also leave older women, especially widows, at risk of dispossession and economic abuse.

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Violence against older women can be prevented

Gender-based violence is never inevitable. There are many ways to accelerate an end to violence against older women. This includes improving data collection and supporting the implementation of laws that uphold women's rights at every age, developing norms- and behaviour-change programmes that explicitly include older women, and ensuring opportunities for community participation and financial independence are extended to older women. Health workers, social workers and care staff must be adequately trained to recognize and respond to violence early. Critically, support services must be accessible to all women, including those with mobility issues or experiencing cognitive decline. This means adapting safe spaces, shelters and other services to proactively reach women wherever they may be.

Learn more about how to prevent violence against older women in Rights Have No Expiry Date: The Case for Action on Violence Against Older Women.