1. Violence and Abuse against Older Persons Silvia Perel-Levin ILC GA, INPEA Chair, NGO Committee on Ageing-Geneva New York, OEWG on Ageing, 31 July 2014

2. Types of abusecharacteristics 1.Physical Infliction of pain or injury ( slapping, hitting, kicking, force- feeding, restraint…) 2. Psychological/emot ional abuse Infliction of mental anguish ( verbal aggression or threat, social isolation, humiliating statements…). 3. Financial/material abuse Improper exploitation and/or use of funds or resources(theft, coercion to deprive the older person of his or her assets) 4. Sexual abuse Non-consensual contact of any kind (Suggestive talk, forced sexual activity, touching, fondling) 5. Neglect Intentional or unintentional failure to meet Older Persons’ needs (failure to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, medical care, hygiene, or social stimulation).

3. Alternative classification ? Neglect isolation, abandonment and social exclusion Violation of human, legal and medical rights Deprivation of choices, decisions, status finances and respect WHO/INPEA 2002 Types of abusecharacteristics 6. Societal abuse Ageism, lack of appropriate pensions, discrimination

4. Community and Societal Abuse Abandonment, property grabbing, forced marriages, accusations of witchcraft, ejection from their homes Older women face tenure insecurity when inheritance laws do not protect them Witch-burning as method of controlling older women and preventing them from inheriting property.

5. Harmful Traditional practices Special Rapporteurs on violence against women, described some harmful practices against older women following country visits. HelpAge International reported about witchcraft accusations, used as excuse to justify violence. The Witchcraft & Human Rights Information Network reported accusations in 41 countries.

6. Working Group on discrimination against women in law and practice (A/HRC/26/39) Women’s poverty and quality of life in older age: culmination of women’s life course Situation in retirement: test for the quality of women’s economic and social life. Discriminatory laws and practice: forced early retirement, Gender pension gap, dependency CEDAW General Rec. 27 on older women States parties have an obligation to draft legislation recognizing and prohibiting violence….

7. Sexual Violence in Eastern DRC AgeNumberPercentage < 152525.9 16-2480918.8 25-3484119.5 35-4498822.9 45-5475217.4 55-642114.9 > 6545810.6 Total4,311100 Harvard Humanitarian Initiative /Oxfam 2010

8. The European Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) EU-wide Survey on Violence against women, 2014 Citing source: FRA gender-based VAW survey dataset 2012 Experience of physical and/or sexual violence

9. WHO, 2013 Lifetime Prevalence of intimate partner violence by age group among ever-partnered women - WHO Age group, yearsPrevalence %95% CI, % 15-1929.426.8 to 32.1 20-2431.629.2 to 33.9 25-2932.330.0 to 34.6 30-3431.128.9 to 33.4 35-3936.630.0 to 43.2 40-4437.830.7 to 44.9 45-4929.226.9 to 31.5 50-5425.518.6 to 32.4 55-5915.16.1 to 24.1 60-6419.69.6 to 29.5 65-6922.212.8 to 31.6

10. The extent of elder abuse Estimated prevalence Old, conservative rates: 4 to 6% Latin America and the Caribbean 6 to 37% China and South Korea 6% to 44%. India (a HelpAge study in 20 cities) 31% Over 50% during 4 years in multiple forms 24% almost daily

11. (HelpAge India, 2012) 1.67% in Rajasthan to 77% in Madhya Pradesh The extent of the problem, India

12. Ecological model Societal Community Relationshi p Individual Relationship CommunitySocietal Interdisciplinary research and intergenerational action at all levels

13. Risk factors Societal Community Relationshi p Individual Relationship CommunitySocietal Dementia / Depression Experienced abuse/ Aggression/ Dependence / disability Gender / Age Isolation/ Substance dependence

14. Risk factors Societal Community Relationshi p Individual Relationshi p CommunitySocietal Financial Dependence Emotional dependence Living arrangements Long-term abuse/violence Intergenerational transmission?

15. Risk factors Societal Community Relationshi p Individual Relationship Community Societal Social isolation Concentration of poverty Widowhood Witchcraft accusations Lack of support networks Erosion of intergenerational relations

16. Risk factors Societal Community Relationshi p Individual Relationship Community Societal Ageism, wide discrimination Sexism/ racism Socio-economic factors/concentration of poverty Inheritance systems/ Widowhood Migration of the young Weak police/criminal Justice

17. Concluding remarks Scientific rigour humanistic model? Towards a UN study on violence and abuse against older persons