Older women, and women with disabilities, are subjected to intimate partner and sexual violence, but also face specific risks and additional forms of abuse, sometimes at the hands of caregivers or healthcare professionals, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday, adding that this includes coercive and controlling behaviours such as withholding of medicines and assistive devices or other aspects of care, and financial abuse.
Calling for better research across countries that will help ensure these women are counted, and that their specific needs are understood and addressed, the health agency maintained that older women, and women with disabilities face particular risk of abuse, yet their situation is largely hidden in most global and national violence-related data.
The WHO maintained that data are generally lacking on violence against older women, particularly from low- and middle-income countries. Most data on prevalence and qualitative evidence on violence against older women come from high-income countries and regions, it noted.
