Help seeking behaviour of abused older women (Cases of Austria, Belgium, Finland, Lithuania and Portugal)

Part of the Avow Study
This article based on a recent European study examines the subjective consequences
of abuse against older women and their help seeking behavior. In 2010, survey data
concerning experiences of abuse in domestic settings were collected from 2,880
older women across five European countries (Austria, Belgium, Finland, Lithuania,
and Portugal). The results of the study indicated that overall 30.1% of older women
reported at least one experience of abuse in the past year. Less than half of the victims
talked about it in the informal setting or reported it to any formal agency. An ecological
framework is used to explain factors influencing women’s decisions to seek help.
Some consequences of abuse (anger, tension, sleeping difficulties, and concentration
difficulties), type of abuse (physical abuse and violation of personal rights), higher
abuse intensity, and density are connected with positive help seeking behaviours.
Victims abused by current partners or a spouse were more passive to seek help.
Daphne III