Sexual Violence Against Older People

A Review of the Empirical Literature

Bibliographic Data

ID19521950
AuthorsHannah Bows (0000-0001-5374-3770, Durham University, corresponding author)
Year2018
Volume19
Issue5
Pages567-583
Publication date2018-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueTrauma Violence & Abuse (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1524-8380 • E-ISSN: 1552-8324
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1524838016683455
PMID29333969
OpenAlexW2569213660
LanguageEN
Citations received29
References cited61

Aging and sexual violence are both established areas of research, but little attention has been paid to research into sexual violence against older people. This article presents a critical review of the literature reporting empirical research in three overlapping fields of inquiry: elder abuse, domestic violence, and sexual violence, identifying points of theoretical and methodological similarity and difference across academic disciplines. Using a range of search terms combining age, sexual violence, and elder abuse, the following databases were searched: EBSCOHOST, Ingenta-Ingenta connect, and JSTOR. In total, the databases searches returned 31 relevant articles and an additional 9 relevant articles were found through manual searches of bibliographies and Google searches, which were grouped into three categories: elder abuse, domestic violence in later life, and sexual violence against older people. Four themes common across these fields emerged: prevalence, characteristics of victims and risk factors, impacts and coping strategies, and perpetrator and assault characteristics. The findings in each area are discussed in detail, exposing gaps in knowledge and understandings of sexual violence against older women. The article ends by defining a future research agenda for this underexplored phenomenon that is of increasing importance in a context of global aging

Criminology · Domestic violence · Elder abuse · Empirical research · Geography · Medical emergency · Poison control · Sexual abuse · Sexual violence · Clinical Psychology · Elder Abuse and Neglect · Human Factors and Ergonomics · Intimate Partner and Family Violence · Medicine · Psychology · Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies