International All Women's Day

They are invisible, we don't see them often in campaigns celebrating women's day, womanhood, so-called power women, girls' power, working mothers, young women entrepreneurs, in campaigns fighting gender pay gap and femicide that targets young women killed by a jealous ex, etc. Yes, "older" women are women, too. 

Older women are not counted in statistics, overlooked by the police, marginalised by services and many are left dangerously at risk in a relationship because the few exits available to them are barred by ageism, stereotyping, underfunding and ignorance.

Women over 60 are killed, the homicide toll is "horrifying", cases often dismissed as accidents. Until three years ago, they were not counted in the Crime Survey for England and Wales which had a cap of 59 years, now it is raised to 74. Institutions such as care homes and refuges are excluded creating a hidden death toll. One in four domestic homicides involve people over 60, half of the victims are killed by their sons (parricide), grandsons, and relatives. Older women are missing in police data on abuse, rape, and murder. The crimes are either not looked at or treated as a "safeguarding issue, gender neutral, 'elder abuse' with no perpetrator". Doubt is quickly cast on the older victim's mental capacity or veracity removing her to residential care making her lose her home. In some cases, extreme violence is involved, older women are "more likely to have suffered five or more injuries than younger women, known as 'overkill'". Nine out of 13 victims aged 80 plus were victims of sexual assault, their murderers "the least likely to express remorse or empathy". Older women also tend to stay in abusive relationships longer than younger women which again increases the chances of fatal violence. But they don't really have many options. In 2017, only one out of 276 refuges offered services for women aged 45 and over (via). So, yes, "happy" International Women's Day ... but let's celebrate all women.

"Once a woman reaches 60, the response from agencies and families to abuse is completely different. That's a violation of older women's human rights. It denies them justice." 

Rebecca Zerk

"If you are found at the bottom of the stairs at 40, the police are probably going to ask questions. Deeply entrenched ageism means that if you are 80, it’s, ‘Well, she probably fell.’" 

Hannah Bows

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photograph via