Doc. 10611

21 June 2005

Violence against elderly women

Motion for a resolution

presented by Mrs Hägg and others

1.       The International Plan of Action on Ageing adopted by The United Nation General Assembly in 1991 (resolution 46/91) includes a number of principles for elderly people “to add life to the years that have been added to life”. The key words are independence, participation, care, self-realization and dignity. In spite of these adopted principles and the fact that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has paid attention to violence against women in the family, the awareness and knowledge concerning violence against elderly women remain very low.

2.       We know that this kind of violence exists. Though many women have been exposed to violence for a very long time their suffering has been discovered late in life. The violence has serious effects upon elderly women. Victims are often traumatized and live in a long-lasting fear.

3.       We need more facts and information about the situation of these women, for example:

- Do they look for care and support?

- Are their own children involved in the violence?

- Is the violence caused partly by the fact that the woman or her husband has a serious disease, such as Alzheimer’s?

4.       Elderly women exposed to violence in their own families are often a forgotten and unseen group. We cannot trust statistics since women seldom report their experiences. Crimes where unknown people are involved are reported more often than is the case when the victim knows the perpetrator, who frequently occurs to be a male member of the family.

5.       This forgotten and unseen violation of elderly women’s rights is physical, psychic or economic and should be studied in detail by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. In the same context focus should be directed also on basic needs of elderly women as their need of food and medicine is very frequently neglected. Also issues like sexual exploitation should be studied..

Signed (see overleaf)

Signed ¹:

HÄGG, Carina, Sweden, SOC

BRANGER, Jean-Guy, France, EPP/CD

HEDEBOE, Poul Henrik, Denmark, UEL

NAGHDALYAN, Hermine, Armenia, LDR

RINGSTAD, Jorunn, Norway, LDR

SKARPHÉÐINSSON, Össur, Iceland, SOC

STĂNOIU, Rodica Mihaela, Romania, SOC

VERMOT-MANGOLD, Ruth-Gaby, Switzerland, SOC

WURM, Gisela, Austria, SOC

ZAPFL-HELBLING, Rosmarie, Switzerland, EPP/CD

¹        SOC: Socialist Group

      EPP/CD: Group of the European People’s Party

      LDR : Liberal, Democratic and Reformers’ Group

      EDG: European Democratic Group

      UEL: Group of the Unified European Left

      NR: not registered in a group