Domestic abuse and older couples

While there is much greater awareness of domestic abuse more generally among social workers and social care professionals nowadays, there is still an uncomfortable silence around its existence between older couples. Reasons for this vary, but include a reluctance to believe that an older man – particularly a frail one – is capable of such a crime, and a misguided belief that violence lessens with age. But there are different types of domestic abuse and age is no barrier, as this special report demonstrates.