Centre for Policy on Ageing



Internal barriers to help seeking for middle-aged and older women who experience intimate partner violence
Author(s)	Richard L Beaulaurier, Laura R Seff, Frederick L Newman
Journal title	Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect, vol 17, no 3, 2005
Pages	pp 53-74
Source	http://www.tandfonline.com
Keywords	Crime ; Elder abuse ; Personal relationships ; Older women ; Middle aged ; Usage [services] ; Qualitative Studies ; United States of America.
Annotation	There has been relatively little qualitatively or quantitatively published research to guide the field in identifying and addressing barriers to seeking help for older women who experience domestic violence. Women aged 45+ have seldom been participants in research on domestic violence. This paper describes results from a qualitative study that focused on reactions to and internalisation of abusive behaviours of an intimate partner. 21 focus groups were conducted with 134 middle-aged and older women. Analysis of the data identified six factors that describe reactions to abusive behaviour that become barriers to help seeking, including self-blame, powerlessness, hopelessness, the need to protect family, and the need to keep such abuse secret from others. These findings are discussed with implications for community outreach and future research. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-060105004 A
Classmark	TWA: QNT: DS: BD: SE: QLD: 3DP: 7T
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.