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Tuesday, November 1

Older Adults and Intimate Partner Violence: A Collaborative System Response

Article author Teresa Kilbane will be presenting on Comparative Analysis of System Response to Older Abused Women: Elder Abuse Investigators, Domestic Violence Workers, Law Enforcement, and the Older Women at the 2011 NASW Illinois Chapter Statewide Conference. To sign up for the conference (offering 18 CEUs!), click here.

Older women experience intimate partner violence in their later years. Is the older woman an abused elder, a battered woman, a combination of both, or does it really matter? Two service networks in the community respond to this population: adult protective services and domestic violence programs. The answer to this question is important, but more importantly, can these two systems respond to their needs no matter which classification is placed on these older abused women? In creating an approach to respond to the needs of older women experiencing abuse, we need to understand how all the key players—including the elder abuse practitioners and women’s shelter and agency networks—construct the problem so we can develop better interventions and services for these women (Straka & Montminy, 2007). These women face the possibility that neither adult protective services (APS) nor domestic violence services (DVS) meet their needs given their difference in philosophy of treatment (Kilbane & Spira, 2010). APS may not properly protect the safety of the older abused woman because of their lack of training on the cycle of violence and safety planning. DVS tends to advocate for younger women and their children without being sensitive to the age-specific needs of the older victim. Therefore, the older woman facing abuse in her later years needs our attention to live out a safe and fulfilling life.

Abuse in later life evolves from a few perspectives. Some define this type of abuse as a continuation of a pattern of behavior for couples from their earlier years. “Some couples have had violent interactions for decades, and the abuse continues as the couple age.” (Literature from the Illinois Department on Aging). Another way to look at abuse in later life is that this pattern of abusive behavior occurs for the first time for the older woman in her later years. In the earliest days of elder abuse research, caregiver stress and the dependence of frail elders was given much attention as the likely cause for violence toward older individuals. As elder abuse literature evolved, however, it became clear that there were multiple causes of elder abuse, and that most often domestic elder abuse had more to do with the characteristics of the abuser, not the dependence of the victim (Otto & Quinn, 2007). In rarer circumstances, an older woman, who may be divorced, widowed, or never married, and who has never experienced abuse in her earlier years, may enter into a relationship in later life with a new partner who is abusive. In summary, the dynamics leading to an older woman being abused by her partner do not always clearly fall into the definition of domestic violence or elder abuse as defined by law or policy.

These two networks (APS and DVS) operate from different philosophies and theoretical models. The domestic violence system tends to serve primarily the younger woman abused by an intimate partner while adult protective services tend to serve those women who are frail or incompetent. Who responds to the older abused woman is important because it will determine the type of services the victim will receive, the philosophy and model upon which those services are based, and how safety and protection is regulated. Some have aligned APS with Child Protective Services focusing primarily on protection of the reported victim. Domestic violence services come from a female, empowerment model, a more narrow definition of domestic violence as intimate partner violence focusing on younger women and their children. In the first scenario the older abused woman is seen as vulnerable in need of protection providing services to maintain safety in her home while, in the second scenario, the abused woman is seen as an advocate for herself who with the assistance of domestic violence services such as safety planning, protective orders and support groups can protect herself against her abuser.

A recent chapter written by this article’s author (“Defining Abuse in Older Women: Voices of the Professionals in Elder Abuse and Domestic Violence”) looks at the how elder abuse investigators and domestic violence workers perceive abuse among older abused women. The chapter presents three recommendations on creating a more informed, collaborative response among these two service networks.

Training
Training should include content from both disciplines. For domestic violence workers, states should use a panel of professionals in aging to review their forty-hour training curricula to ensure sufficient content on older women. For elder abuse investigators, curricula required for adult protective services (APS) training should include the cycle of violence, power and control dynamics, and recommended strategies such as safety planning. Training for both professions should include raising awareness of the responsibilities of both parties, how they may conflict in their models of causation of abuse in later life, and how these conflicts can be resolved through successful partnerships. Experts in the field also suggest cross-training. A benefit is that each profession becomes familiar with the resources available to the other’s profession. Collaborative training promotes positive working relationships. A nationally-recognized leader in providing technical assistance, consultation, and training that addresses the interconnection between domestic violence, sexual assault, and elder abuse/neglect is the National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life (NCALL). Lastly, training should be promoted through curriculum development in graduate education in the fields of social work, law, nursing, health, and medicine. For example, courses focusing on family violence should add content on how to work effectively with older abused women as a special population.

Establish Collaborative Mechanisms
Currently, APS and DVS professionals do not see large numbers of older women who are victims of intimate partner violence in their caseloads. Therefore, it is not necessary to create new programs (particularly with the lack of funding for social services), but to create collaborative mechanisms. The Minnesota Network on Abuse in Later Life is a freestanding statewide network of not only DVS and APS workers, but also law enforcement, court personnel, health care providers, community senior service providers, and representatives from communities of color and tribal organizations (http://mnall.org/about/about.htm). Membership brings together professionals to work collaboratively through informational exchanges and annual statewide meetings while also providing training, continuing education credits, and a library of materials and videos. Partnerships on a micro-level need to be strengthened to provide an opportunity for APS and DVS personnel to establish a rapport and a successful working relationship. In Illinois, the APS model uses a multidisciplinary team for their elder abuse cases which includes: law enforcement, community providers, bank officials, and a domestic violence professional. However, this model may be expanded, or develop a subcommittee, to periodically review and consult on cases of older women abused by an intimate partner. More importantly, a neutral structure outside both APS and DVS is called for to ensure attention is given to the plight of older abused women. Similar initiatives have addressed collaborative mechanisms to bridge the two professions in states such as Colorado, New Hampshire, Texas, and Wisconsin (Otto & Quinn, 2007). An example of a collaborative mechanism is the Sage-Boston Collaborative in Massachusetts which is made up of state agencies and representatives from domestic violence advocacy programs, elder service agencies, and the criminal justice system. Their intention is to build community capacity to improve services for older abused women (https://www.asaging.org/asav2/Awards/ han_2005.cfm?submenu1=han).

Leadership
To recommend and develop training and collaborations, leadership must come from both the APS and DVS profession. In investigating barriers to collaboration and new initiatives between APS and DVS, Otto and Quinn (2007) recognized the importance of a strong and committed leadership to address these barriers. Universities have the opportunity to bridge these two professions by taking a leadership role. These schools have academicians with interests in both aging and family violence and ties in the community with agencies providing both APS and DV services through their research, training, and internships. The universities represent a neutral party that can act as a conduit to bring leadership together by working with these bureaucracies and providing training, resources, and consultation.

In summary, many older women experience domestic violence grown old. Many have suffered abuse, intimidation, and mistreatment by their spouse or partner over their life time. Decisions to stay or leave are complicated by health concerns, financial issues, and generational norms about the sanctity of marriage. These women deserve to be able to live out their remaining years with peace and serenity. Since their presenting problems of intimate partner violence in later life lie in the auspice of both the elder abuse and domestic violence service system, it is the responsibility of professionals in these two systems to work collaboratively to ensure the safety and healthy well-being of older women in their remaining years.

References

• Kilbane, T., & Spira, M. (2010). Domestic violence or elder abuse? Why it matters for older women. Families in Society, April-June 2010, Vol. 91, No. 2.
• Otto, J. & Quinn, K. (2007). Barriers to promising practices for collaboration between adult protective services and domestic violence programs. Retrieved from http://www.ncea.aoa.gov/ncearoot/main_site/pdf/sBarrierstoPromisingPractices.pdf.
• Straka, S. M., & Montminy, L. (2006). Responding to the needs of older women experiencing domestic violence. Violence Against Women, 12(3), 251–267.

Teresa Kilbane, PhD, is associate professor at Loyola University Chicago where she’s been since 1997; she teaches research and policy to graduate and doctoral-level students. Teresa returned to her early roots where her initial research projects were in the field of aging. She is the recipient of summer research grants to study domestic violence of older women. Qualitative interviews were conducted with elder abuse investigators, domestic violence workers, law enforcement, and older abused women. Her research was presented at the NASW Illinois Chapter Statewide, the Fifth Annual Summer Institute on Aging, Governor’s Conference on Aging, and recent publications.