More and more assaults on elderly women in Switzerland
Keystone-SDA
Violence against older women is on the rise in Switzerland. In 2024 there were 411 cases of aggression against people aged 60 or older, 73% of them women, according to the national competence centre Old Age without Violence.
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The victims have an average age of 81 years and cases are up by 15% since 2023. However, centre director Ruth Mettler Ernst, when asked by the Swiss News Agency Keystone-ATS, assumes that a large number of cases go unreported. Violence against old people is still a taboo and embarrassing topic, she said. It takes a lot of trust for victims to report the abuse they have suffered.
According to the centre of expertise, 70% of the cases occur in the private environment and another 29% in institutions. On the other hand, 80% of perpetrators come from a closed social circle, including relatives, spouses, friends and caregivers.
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Women in old age are particularly at risk because of their age, gender and increasing need for care. As they lose self-sufficiency, the possibility of finding themselves in an overwhelmingly dependent relationship increases.
Switzerland’s second parallel report on the Istanbul Convention against gender-based violence shows progress in raising awareness against violence in old age, according to the competence centre. However, the specific case of violence against older women is not explicitly mentioned, as “older people” are referred to in general.
Translated from Italian by DeepL/ts
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