THE leader of an elderly charity has criticised the "strong agenda" being pushed in Scotland that domestic abuse is a younger woman's issue and warned that cases involving older people are likely to have spiked during the pandemic.

Lesley Carcary, Director of Hourglass, formerly Action on Elder Abuse, said a perception that abuse ends “when someone turns 65” had pushed the problem into the fringes of society and was hampering efforts to protect older women and establish the scale of the problem.

She said older women who have been married for 50 or 60 years may be less likely to leave relationships if they are financially dependent on spouses while others are “terrified” that disclosures may lead to them being placed in a care home.

The charity leader said elderly women were less likely to report abuse and that advice to older people to stay indoors during lockdown may have exacerbated the problem.

She said: “There is a perception that once you hit 65 domestic abuse ends.

“What we have actually found is that in Scotland the women's aid movement is very strong and I think they are pushing a very strong agenda to say that domestic abuse is a younger woman’s issue which means that we can’t really make any sort of depth into the argument.

READ MORE: The Scots area classed as the best for dementia care 

“I think lot of people think that it’s very much a younger woman’s issue. They might think that if someone older was a victim of domestic abuse they would have left years ago.

“But for all sorts of reasons that’s not the case. 

“If they have had 50 or 60 years of marriage, the woman may be almost completely reliant on the man as far as finance so it becomes really, really difficult to leave. 

“A lot of women are absolutely terrified that if social work find out, it will trigger a review of their care needs and they will be put into a care home.

“There really does seem to be a hierarchy of abuse. If it’s an older person, people don’t seem to think it’s their place to intervene.”

While Hourglass does not have exact figures, it is estimated that around one in five older adults across the UK has experienced abuse in some form. Ms Carcary said lockdown is likely to have made it even more difficult for older women to report abuse.

READ MORE: Calls for more social housing to help domestic abuse victims 

“It’s fair to say if they are now stuck in the house 24/7 with their abuser, it’s not possible to call someone to access help.”

She said the charity had also dealt with cases involving abuse by grown up children or other family members. While other parts of the UK include other close relatives in domestic abuse legislation, she said that this does not apply in Scotland.

“The problem what we have always had in Scotland there is a very strict definition and domestic abuse only covers partners and spouses. In other parts of the UK it covers wider family members.

“We have always said that’s ridiculous. What if your grown up son is the person who is domestically abusing you and that’s not included.

“So they might not also get domestic abuse support because it is their son who is doing it. There is a clear loophole there.

“There is also the issue that older people may not recognise abuse. If your older son is asking for money to pay their rent, a lot of people might not consider that as abuse but in a lot of cases it is. 

She said there was also a presumption - and included domestic abuse charities in this - that elderly people would be protected by adult safeguarding measures.

If a local authority knows or suspects that an ‘adult at risk’ is being harmed, it can take further action is needed to protect their well-being, property or financial affairs. The intervention generally applies to those with a disability, mental disorder, illness or physical or mental infirmity.

“What they will say is, that if it’s a older woman who is being abused she would get support from adult safeguarding,” said Ms Carcary.

“But adult safeguarding is only there for people who are deemed to be vulnerable.

“ Unfortunately you get older women who are stuck in a bit of a loophole. They are not quite vulnerable enough to get adult safeguarding support.

“A lot of women are absolutely terrified that if social work find out, it will trigger a review of their care needs and they will be put into a care home.

Ms Carcary said there was some evidence of older men being abused but said cases are thought to “predominantly” affect women.

“We do hear of cases involving men and it is even harder for them to speak up because people just cannot accept that a man, especially an older man would be abused.

“Quite often for an older man it’s a generational pride issue. It’s very rare that they speak up about it.”

READ MORE: Warning as three in four victims of investment scams is over 55 

A spokeswoman for Scottish Women's Aid said: “Our local services support women of all ages every single day, whether in emergency refuge accommodation, emotional support  or advocacy settings.

"The women who staff  services are experts in the complexities and dynamics of coercive control and domestic abuse and how that can manifest itself differently for different age groups, as well as where the differences lie between domestic abuse and the wider topic of elder abuse. 

“In our awareness raising and campaign activities we do our utmost to demonstrate the fact that domestic abuse is a violation of human rights that impacts women of all ages and from all walks of life.

“In our awareness raising campaign for Scotland’s world-leading new domestic abuse law we worked especially hard to draw attention to the experiences of older women with our animation on coercive control.

"Similarly, our One Thousand Words series of stock images representing domestic abuse intentionally feature women of all ages."

For advice and support on issues involving older people go to www.wearehourglass.scot/scotland