UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Reem Alsalem, has issued a call for enhanced protections for older women, highlighting the ongoing issue of ageism and sex discrimination. These factors contribute to the invisibility of violence, exploitation, and neglect directed at older women within many legal and policy frameworks. Her recent report titled “Violence against older women” outlines significant gaps in legal protection, data collection, and access to justice for this demographic.
As the global population of older women increases, with figures projected to reach 1.13 billion by 2050, the intersection of aging and gender becomes a growing concern for social protection and justice systems. Alsalem’s report emphasizes that violence against older women should be viewed as a unique form of intersecting discrimination, rather than merely an extension of violence from earlier stages in life. Additionally, older women face issues such as the exploitation of pensions, denial of healthcare, and digital exclusion. Those in marginalized groups, such as widows, migrant women, and those with disabilities, are at heightened risk.
The World Health Organization previously estimated that one in six people aged 60 and above experienced abuse in 2020. Despite this, existing research often neglects older age groups, leading to their exclusion from prevention and justice initiatives. International law does provide some protections; for example, the CEDAW Committee’s 2010 General Recommendation No. 27 focuses on older women, recognizing that lifetime discrimination can worsen with age. Nonetheless, many global human rights documents lack explicit prohibitions against age-based discrimination, leaving older women underrepresented in international frameworks.
A recent UN Human Rights Council resolution has initiated the drafting of a legally binding international instrument on the rights of older persons. However, concerns about the inadequacy of existing international protections remain. Unlike other vulnerable groups such as children or persons with disabilities, older persons do not have a dedicated universal human-rights convention.
Alsalem has urged states to address this gap by explicitly recognizing violence against older women in legislation, improving data collection, and making essential services more accessible. Stronger measures in pensions, housing, and care services are also necessary to reduce economic dependencies that increase vulnerability to abuse. As negotiations for an international instrument on older persons progress, there is potential to establish enforceable international standards concerning age-based discrimination and related issues.