Responding to Abuse in Later Life
Aging is a nuanced journey we travel from birth. Although elder years can be filled with joy and new freedoms, there can also be new complexities or old ones can deepen as health changes, familial roles alter, and societal perspectives shift. These complexities can serve to obscure an already less-discussed issue: abuse in later life. Abuse in later life can be difficult to identify and respond to given cultural stigma and systemic ageism.
This month, we created a complication of recent resources and trainings centered around abuse in later life, including how to identify and respond as advocates. As always, please don’t hesitate to contact us if you’re looking for more!
Trauma-Informed Practices to Address Abuse and Build Resilience
June 2023
National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA)
Preventing and addressing elder abuse and building resilience in older adults requires a nuanced and trauma-informed approach. This panel webinar will discuss the cumulative and complex trauma histories of diverse older adults, how trauma relates to elder abuse, and strategies to provide culturally responsive and trauma-informed support.
Collaborating for Justice for Older African Americans: A Guide
September 2023
National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life (NCALL)
The aim of this guide is to equip multidisciplinary elder justice partners to build stronger and more equitable collaborations with African American community-based and culturally-specific programs. This guide offers strategies to promote elder justice in culturally-specific ways.
Rural Domestic and Sexual Abuse Program Advocates: Making a Difference in The Lives of Older Survivors of Abuse
Updated October 2023
National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life (NCALL)
In this resource, you will find: an overview of abuse in later life and the unique challenges it poses for older survivors and service providers, strategies for serving older survivors in rural areas, tips for outreach in rural communities; and more.
Caregiving Chronicles: Lived Experiences and Life Edits
November 2023
National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA)
This webinar includes insights from acclaimed journalists and caregivers who are amplifying the voices and experiences of caregivers, discover how practitioners can better integrate culturally sensitive and responsive approaches to support caregivers, and learn how to recognize signs of elder mistreatment and ways to embrace the opportunities and challenges in caregiving relationships.
Preventing and responding to domestic and sexual violence in later life
October 2023
VAWnet
This special collection brings together selected materials from many different organizations related to preventing and responding to elder abuse and abuse in later life. By focusing specifically on domestic and sexual violence (DV/SV) in later life, these resource materials highlight the complexities of older adults’ DV/SV experiences and emphasize collaborative and multi-pronged approaches to addressing DV/SV in later life.
Response to Elder Abuse: A Self-Assessment Workbook Series
November 2022
National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life (NCALL)
This set of self-assessment tools is meant to assist communities in evaluating practices within and across key intervening agencies and in building a coordinated response to elder abuse. The tools include a series of workbooks for five key interveners—(1) DV and SA victim services, (2) APS, (3) Law enforcement, (4) Prosecution, and (5) Courts, and (6) Coordinated community response. The tools are to assist communities in evaluation. They are not a replacement for doing the work.
Responding to Abuse in Later Life: The Role of Forensic Nurses
June 2023
National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life (NCALL)
Forensic nurses play a vital role in identifying and treating abuse survivors. This webinar overviews elder abuse and dives into the victim and healthcare provider perspectives on cases of abuse in later life, particularly how forensic nurses can identify and intervene in a trauma-informed way.
Looking for more resources for preventing and addressing abuse in later life?
Looking for more resources for preventing and addressing abuse in later life?
Check out last year’s compilation of resources: “Elder Abuse Awareness Day: June 15“