Age Cymru Dyfed Launches Domestic Abuse Support in Carmarthenshire

Older people are often overlooked when it comes to domestic abuse, but domestic abuse can happen at any age. Following a successful bid for funding via Connecting Carmarthenshire, Age Cymru Dyfed is now offering over fifties living in Carmarthenshire experiencing domestic abuse in their homes support and advice to help tackle the abuse. This new service acts upon the findings of the Older People’s Commissioner for Wales, where incidents of older people experiencing abuse were found to be both underreported and under-recorded. Caroline Davies, (Deputy CEO Age Cymru Dyfed) said,

“This funding aims to help  over fifties in Carmarthenshire affected by domestic abuse realise it’s ok to speak up on domestic abuse and that help is available. We will be here to provide information, advice, and signpost to the right services. Funding allows us to get behind timely campaigns such as Global 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence which runs from 25 November - International Day of Violence against Women, to 10 December - International Human Rights Day. We’re keen to help all genders experiencing forms of domestic abuse across Carmarthenshire.”

Access support!

Age Cymru Dyfed secured funding in Autumn 2023 to begin to tackle issues head on. Our team is providing relevant information and advice and signposting Carmarthenshire residents to relevant support services. Often it is the case that affected people in their over fifties:

• are unaware of support out there
• feel support is not available for older generations
• are financially dependence on their abuser
• feel a sense of shame and embarrassment
• fear consequences of reporting abuse

Background to domestic abuse

The facts

Crime Survey figures show hundreds of thousands of women in the UK (circa 200k) aged 16 to 74 have had an experience of domestic abuse, and that cases increased over the pandemic in recent years (data for 75+ is not usually collected so goes under reported). We know older people may face barriers reporting abuse and that many cases of domestic abuse are not being officially recorded. Domestic abuse may be physical, sexual, emotional, or financial, and may be one-off or part of a pattern.

What domestic abuse looks like in older age

Like younger women, older women and men may experience one or more of these types of abuse, but age-related factors mean that there are also key differences.

• Older people are just as likely to be abused by an adult child as they are by an intimate partner.
• Almost half of older people experiencing domestic abuse will have a disability or mobility issue.
• An older person may find it difficult to report abuse or leave a relationship where their abuser is also their carer.
• Men are at increased risk of domestic abuse as they age and the range of potential perpetrators widens.

The Problem

• Older people experiencing domestic abuse may face several barriers to seeking/receiving support. Opportunities may be missed to identify those who are at risk/ask necessary questions.
• Where abuse has taken place, older people might not receive access to specialist domestic abuse support or resources because abuse experienced by older people is sometimes recorded as ‘elder abuse’ not ‘domestic abuse’, even where the perpetrator is a partner or family member.
• A lack of data and evidence about older people’s experiences of domestic abuse means policies and resources rarely consider needs of older victims/survivors.
• An older person may be too scared to access support, may wish to protect family members, or may have normalised abuse that has been going on for a long time.
• There are likely to be further barriers to accessing appropriate support for older people who are disabled, from an LGBTQ community, or those from black and minority ethnic backgrounds.

Get in touch!

If you, or a loved one are experiencing domestic abuse and are over fifty living in Carmarthenshire, please speak up and ring, email or pop into the Llanelli office. Visit our contact page for full details or email reception@agecymrudyfed.org.uk.