Older women allegedly killed by family members a ‘silent crisis’, experts say

A police officer in front the house in Fisher, ACT, where 92-year-old Jean Morley was found dead in 2023. Her husband, Donald Morley, was convicted of her murder last year. Photograph: ACT Policing

Fourteen women over the age of 55 were allegedly killed in domestic violence-related homicides last year, according to a tally kept by the online feminist group Destroy the Joint. When the Australian Bureau of Statistics releases its data for the year, this number could well increase.

In 2023, according to ABS data, there were 28 women over the age of 55 allegedly killed in domestic violence related homicides, roughly a third of all such alleged homicides.