New Study Suggests Older Women Face Sexual Elder Abuse More Than Reported

An Australian study suggests that older women face more sexual elder abuse than is reported, in part because older women are seen as “asexual” and therefore not the targets of sexual abuse.

Norma’s Project looked into the prevalence of sexual elder abuse among older women, and the report was published on Monday, July 7th, by La Trobe University in Melbourne. The study collected stories of the sexual elder abuse suffered by women aged 65 and older, to help understand the factors that hide this type of elder abuse and allow it to continue.

The project was named for a woman who suffered sexual elder abuse while at a nursing home in Australia. She and her daughter reported when a male nurse sexually assaulted her to the manager of the facility, who was “shocked and disbelieving.” When they searched for help among organizations in Australia, they found that none covered Norma’s specific problem.

“One had expertise and experience in dementia and older women but not sexual assault; the other had expertise and experience in sexual assault but not in dementia,” Norma’s daughter said.

And Norma was hesitant to discuss what had happened: “She struggled to find the right words, because of her dementia, but she also seemed embarrassed or ashamed to be talking about such private things.”

Catherine Barrett, one of the lead researchers on the project, said that police and nursing home staff often don’t believe reports from elderly women that they have been victims of sexual elder abuse. However, numbers reported by Norma’s Project suggest that older women are still vulnerable to this type of abuse, especially elderly women living in rural areas or those dependent on nursing staff. “Women who have dementia and who can’t speak were also being targeted,” Barrett said.

“We don’t think of older people as sexual, full stop, and so there are a number of stories where a service provider has perpetrated abuse but people have just said, “Well, he’s a young man, he’s married, he’s got three children. She’s an older woman with dementia. Why would he do that?’.”

“But sexual assault is not about sexual attraction, it’s about power, people exercising power over others,” Barrett said.

Although Norma’s Project was conducted in Australia, the US has an equally large problem with sexual elder abuse of older women. In the first week of July this year, an 85-year-old woman was sexually assaulted in her home in San Jose, CA, by two teenagers, who then stole her SUV and crashed it. And in Columbia, SC, a man was charged with the sexual elder abuse of an 86-year-old in mid-June after he picked her up at a bus stop, drove her to an empty parking lot, and assaulted her in the woods nearby for two hours.

“We need to do some work with aged care service providers and anybody who works with older women, providing education around what makes older women vulnerable,” Barrett said.

The Strom Law Firm Prosecutes Elder Abuse and Sexual Abuse of the Elderly

If your loved one is a resident of a skilled nursing facility, long term care facility, assisted living, or independent living facility, and has faced sex abuse or sexual misconduct from employees or fellow residents, you do not have to suffer in silence. The attorneys at the Strom Law Firm will fight a variety of elder abuse and neglect cases, because it is very important that our elders receive the best possible care at the end of their lives, and we must hold these facilities to the highest possible standard. We offer free, confidential consultations, so you can discuss the facts of your case with impunity. Contact us today for help. 803.252.4800.