January 31st, 2023

EAPO Annual Virtual Conference Series 2023

Risk Assessment of Older Adults: Practical Tools for Early Detection and Intervention of Elder Abuse

Session: Violence Across the Lifespan: Understanding & Responding to Violence Against Older Women in Ontario

Older women across Ontario often describe feeling invisible within services, systems, and communities. VAW shelter programming, service frameworks and outreach within the gender-based violence sector is often targeted on younger survivors with children. After experiencing multiple forms of violence, often throughout generations and by multiple perpetrators, older women have unique and complex needs for service and support.

Ensuring an intersectional lifespan approach in your agency’s work with gender-based violence survivors can help to disrupt this invisibility and isolation older women and gender-diverse individuals may feel.

Compared to younger survivors, older women are often less likely to report gender-based violence, have unique risk factors related to lethality and escalation of violence, and experience additional barriers to accessing support.

Femicide rates against older women are on the rise and the pandemic has resulted in new and increased challenges for service providers and community members providing support, service and care.

Information provided will include:

  • Concrete suggestions for service providers and agencies on increasing capacity to provide effective services to older women experiencing gender-based violence
  • Femicide and older women – rates in Ontario, understanding risk factors & taking action
  • An overview of OAITH’s resources, training, tools, tips and knowledge focused on increasing capacity to provide trauma-informed service and support for older women who have experienced violence.

Speaker:

Amber Wardell 

Learning & Development Coordinator for the Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses (OAITH)

Download Power Point