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Violence against women 60 years and older: data availability, methodological issues and recommendations for good practice
“This briefing note, which focuses on the measurement of violence against women 60 years and older, is one in a series of methodological briefing notes for strengthening the measurement and data collection of violence against particular groups of women or specific aspects of violence against women. These briefing notes are meant for researchers, national statistics offices and others involved in data collection on violence against women.
They have been developed as part of the UN Women–World Health Organization Joint Programme on strengthening methodologies and measurement of and building national capacities for violence against women data (Joint Programme on Violence against Women Data). These briefing notes seek to contribute to strengthening the quality and availability of data on violence against women and hence enhance global, regional and national level monitoring of progress towards its elimination, including for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 5.2 on the elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls.
This briefing note summarizes work undertaken by the World Health Organization (WHO) as part of the Joint Programme on Violence against Women data to inform the development of a module on violence against women 60 years and older that can be included in dedicated surveys on violence against women. It provides an overview of the challenges in the availability, measuring and collecting of data on violence against older women. It also makes recommendations to address some of the issues identified, with the aim of strengthening ongoing and future data collection efforts on violence against older women and increasing its availability.
Background
Violence against women is a global public health problem, a major violation of women’s human rights, and a gender inequality and development issue. The 2018 violence against women prevalence estimates show that globally, nearly 1 in 3 (30%) women 15 years and older have been subjected to either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime (1). This violence has detrimental and long-lasting consequences for women’s lives and their physical, mental and sexual and reproductive health (2). Much of this violence is perpetrated by male intimate partners – globally intimate partner violence affects 26% of ever partnered women 15 years and older (1). For women aged 50–59 years the lifetime prevalence of physical and/or intimate partner violence is 24% (95% uncertainty intervals (UI): 20–30%) and for women 60 years and older it is 23% (UI 18–31%) (3).
While women of reproductive age (15–49 years) are at higher risk of all forms of intimate partner violence, women 50 years and older continue to experience such violence, however the types and dynamics of violence from an intimate partner may change as women (and their partners) get older. Similarly, while younger women are at higher risk of sexual violence, whether by partners or other perpetrators, older women are also subjected to sexual violence. In addition, women 60 years and older may be more likely to be subjected to neglect and to other types of abuse compared with younger women. For example, specific forms of economic abuse, or specific acts of physical or psychological violence or controlling behaviours (e.g. physical or chemical restraint), including by perpetrators other than partners. These types of violence specific to older women are generally not captured in existing surveys that measure the prevalence of violence against women (1,4,5). As a result of the limited data available for older women, especially in low- and middle-income countries where the surveys mainly focus on women of reproductive age (15-49 years), and the gaps in current survey instruments, the prevalence and magnitude of violence against older women are most likely underestimated (4,5,6).
However, globally evidence is lacking on the prevalence, patterns and types of violence against women aged 50 years and older, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. We also need more evidence on the risk factors and effects of this violence, and barriers to reporting it and seeking help among older women who are subjected to violence. Recognition of this need for data is growing and an increasing number of population-based violence against women surveys are extending the upper age limit to include older women. However, to obtain more valid data for this age group, a higher age limit must be accompanied with better survey measures on violence against older women.
Target 5.2 of the SDGs, agreed in 2015 by all countries at the United Nations General Assembly, focuses on the elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls. SDG indicators 5.2.1 on the prevalence of intimate partner violence and 5.2.2 on the prevalence of nonpartner sexual violence apply to women and girls aged 15 years and older. These indicators provide further impetus to strengthen data collection on violence against older women.
Prevalence data on violence against older women currently comes from either studies or surveys on the abuse of older people (60 years and older) that present data disaggregated by sex, or from dedicated violence against women surveys that have a sample age range older than 49 years. For most of the latter studies, the upper age limit varies from 60 to 75 years, or there is no upper age limit. As of 2018, of the 161 countries and areas with at least one population based prevalence survey on violence against women or survey which includes a module on violence against women, 104 measured the prevalence of intimate partner violence against women aged 50 years and older. Most of the data came from high-income settings (for example, the European survey on violence against women conducted by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights(7)), and/or from dedicated surveys on violence against women in low- and middle-income countries that used the WHO multi-country survey instruments, for example, the Women’s Health and Life Expectancy Surveys conducted in Asia Pacific and the Caribbean (8,9). Only one country – Mexico – included in their survey an additional set of questions specific to women 60 years and older (10). Even when data are collected on women 50 years and older, only 74 countries reported age-disaggregated data for this age group of women. In the 2018 estimates, only 11.5% of eligible data points on the prevalence of intimate partner violence against women were for women aged 50 years and older (1).”
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FUENTE: WHO, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research, Violence against women 60 years and older, WHO, HRP, UN Women, ISBN: 9789240090996. Recuperado de: https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/376338/9789240090996-eng.pdf?sequence=1