Arizona State University, Tempe, USA.
University of Maryland Carey School of Law, Baltimore, USA.
J Interpers Violence. 2021 Nov;36(21-22):10479-10498. doi: 10.1177/0886260519884688. Epub 2019 Nov 5.
Most analyses of domestic violence and older adults focus on abuse by children and non-intimate caregivers. However, a significant percentage of elder abuse is perpetrated by an intimate partner. This article addresses a gap in the current literature on elder abuse by addressing how older survivors of intimate partner violence use the legal system as a tool to achieve safety by filing for a civil protection order. We critically examine 607 Arizona protection order filings in 2015, comparing those petitions filed by adults 50 and older ( = 83) with those younger than 50 ( = 524). We find significant differences in the forms of violence described in the protection order petition, as well as the types of relationships between the petitioner and respondent, the likelihood that an order will be issued, and the provisions requested and granted. Most importantly, gender is a critical component of our analysis-older petitioners are far more likely to be men than younger petitioners, and both petitions and outcomes are very different for older men than for older women. These results are then discussed in the context of the dynamics of older relationships, current firearm laws, and the barriers older adults face when attempting to use resources intended to help survivors achieve safety.
大多数关于家庭暴力和老年人的分析都集中在儿童和非亲密照顾者的虐待上。然而，相当一部分虐待老人的行为是由亲密伴侣实施的。本文通过探讨老年亲密伴侣暴力幸存者如何利用法律系统作为一种工具，通过申请民事保护令来获得安全，从而填补了当前关于虐待老人文献中的一个空白。我们批判性地审查了 2015 年亚利桑那州的 607 份保护令申请，将 50 岁及以上的成年人（=83）的申请与 50 岁以下的成年人（=524）的申请进行了比较。我们发现，保护令申请中描述的暴力形式、申请人和被申请人之间的关系类型、发出命令的可能性以及所请求和批准的条款都存在显著差异。最重要的是，性别是我们分析的一个关键因素——年长的申请人更有可能是男性，而不是年轻的申请人，年长的男性的申请和结果与年长的女性有很大的不同。然后，我们将这些结果放在老年关系的动态、当前的枪支法以及老年人在试图使用旨在帮助幸存者获得安全的资源时面临的障碍的背景下进行了讨论。
