A reflection on gender issues in elder abuse research

Neglect, abuse and violence against older women has not been a prominent focus of elder abuse research. This is in spite of the fact that from an international human rights perspective this is considered a gap in policy and practice addressing abuse across the lifespan. A review of the literature reveals three dominant paradigms for studying older women and abuse, all of which have the potential for marginalizing older women’s experiences and needs. An emergent human rights perspective is discussed as a more holistic framework for understanding abuse of older women and ways of addressing this from an international perspective. Examples of research from Brazil and Portugal are reviewed and discussed.