UN Expert Calls for Action as Violence Against Older Women Remains Largely Hidden

Governments need to explicitly recognise violence against older women in legislation, national strategies and violence prevention and response programmes, Alsalem said.

For many older women, abuse, exploitation and neglect remain outside the focus of the laws, policies, data and services designed to protect women from violence and uphold older people's rights. In a report to the UN General Assembly, Reem Alsalem, the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences, calls for urgent government action to stop ageism and sexism from making this violence invisible or treating it as an unavoidable part of ageing.

A Growing Population Hidden by Gaps in Protection

An estimated 664 million women were aged 60 or older in 2025, with that number projected to reach 1.13 billion by 2050. Alsalem's report describes violence against older women as a distinct problem shaped by sex-based discrimination, ageism and inequalities accumulated across their lives. Understanding their experiences means recognising how these disadvantages interact, rather than allowing older women to fall through the gaps between policies addressing violence against women and those protecting older people.

Physical, psychological, sexual and economic violence can be accompanied by coercive control, neglect, abandonment and technology-facilitated abuse. The report identifies exploitation of pensions and property, digital exclusion, denial of healthcare or assistive devices, and barriers to reporting abuse or obtaining justice among the harms older women face. Sexual violence against them remains particularly under-recognised, with exclusion from services and data making it harder to understand their experiences and provide protection that meets their needs.

Safety and Autonomy Matter in Every Setting

Violence against older women is not confined to the family home, extending into communities, care institutions, prisons, and settings affected by conflict or humanitarian crises. Widows, migrant and stateless women, rural women, women with disabilities and those living in institutional care face particular risks, according to the report. Women affected by conflict and humanitarian emergencies also require specific attention in efforts to prevent abuse and ensure that protection reaches those most exposed to harm.

Decisions about medical treatment and the end of life require close attention to the pressures created by poverty, disability, isolation and dependence on others for care. Alsalem warned that these circumstances can shape the choices available to older women, making dignity and autonomy essential to discussions about support. "No woman should be made to feel that her continued life is a burden simply because she has reached an advanced age or requires support," she said.

Turning Recognition Into Practical Protection

Governments need to explicitly recognise violence against older women in legislation, national strategies and violence prevention and response programmes, Alsalem said. Collecting data broken down by age and sex would help make their experiences visible, supported by accessible ways to report abuse, obtain protection, pursue justice and secure redress. Training for law enforcement officers, judicial professionals, healthcare workers and social service staff forms another part of the response, helping institutions recognise and address the violence older women experience.

The recommendations extend to stronger social protection, pensions, housing, healthcare, palliative care and other care services, alongside measures to prevent economic exploitation and isolation. Protection must respect older women's independence and contributions to society rather than reducing them to their care needs. "Older women are rights holders, knowledge bearers and active members of society," Alsalem said. "Their age must never be used to diminish their dignity, autonomy or protection."