Domestic violence against elderly women.

OBJECTIVE

To describe the experiences of four elderly abused women to better understand the influence of violence on their lives and the implications for intervention by family physicians.

DESIGN

Qualitative case presentations of four elderly women who participated in a hospital-based domestic violence intervention program.

SETTING

The Domestic Violence Program of Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Centre, an intervention program based in the emergency department.

PARTICIPANTS

Four English-speaking working-class women ranging from 63 to 73 years of age who had experienced battering by male partners and who volunteered after expressing interest in follow-up service by the Domestic Violence Program.

METHOD

Qualitative analysis of the oral narratives of the four participants.

FINDINGS

Eleven themes emerging from the women's narratives were identified and illustrated with verbatim quotations: the marriage license as a hitting license, violence in the family of origin, powerlessness, women treated as objects, survival, barriers to leaving, memories linked to children's ages, community support, turning points, integrating and processing experiences of abuse, and witnessing and helping other women.

CONCLUSIONS

The abuse these women endured greatly influenced their lives and health.