Practitioner Views on the Impacts, Challenges, and Barriers in Supporting Older Survivors of Sexual Violence

Despite half a century of research on both sexual violence and elder abuse, the intersection between the two remains largely unexplored. Using theoretical lenses of feminist criminology and critical feminist gerontology, this article explores the intersection between age and sexual violence drawing on interviews with 23 practitioners supporting older survivors (aged 60 and over). They reported physical and emotional effects of sexual violence leading to limited lifestyles, disengagement from social networks, and reliance on pathogenic coping strategies. Provision of effective support was complicated by challenges associated with aging bodies and the social stigma associated with both sexual victimhood and older age. Additional challenges lay in supporting older male survivors and those living with dementia. The article ends by discussing implications for practice and an agenda for future research.

Men's vulnerability–women's resilience: from widowhood to late-life repartnering

ABSTRACTBackground:The ongoing increase in life expectancy resulting in people living longer after the death of a lifelong spouse along with the stresses of widowhood is likely to increase the phenomenon of repartnering in old age. The aim of this article is to learn about the attributed meanings of late-life repartnering among older repartnered widows and widowers dealing with widowhood.Methods:The experiences of 27 couples (54 participants), in which both partners were widowed, were chosen from two larger studies on late-life repartnering: one took a dyadic perspective (interviewing both partners), and the other took an intergenerational approach (interviewing both partners and offspring). Criterion sampling in both studies used the criteria of widowers who repartnered above age 65 and widows above age 60, remarried or not, living separately, or under the same roof, and who had children and grandchildren from a lifelong marriage that had ended with the death of their spouse. All semi-structured interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed based on grounded theory principles and dyadic analysis adapted to families.Results:Present a grounded model indicating gender differences in dealing with the death of a lifelong spouse. Men tended to experience vulnerability whereas women tended to experience resilience.Conclusions:These findings make an innovative contribution by showing the reversal of gender inequality in old age, and gender differences between widows’ and widowers’ coping with widowhood, even though both repartnered. They are discussed in light of (critical) feminist gerontology including contribution to theory development and implications for practice.