STOIC HEROINES OR COLLABORATORS: AGEISM, FEMINISM AND THE PROVISION OF ASSISTANCE TO ABUSED OLD WOMEN

Abstract

This paper uses findings of a study in rural Canada to discuss issues surrounding the assistance offered to old women living with abuse. Assistance providers, some of whom were women in their mid‐seventies and beyond, suggested that most women in these age groups are of the opinion that ‘having made their [marriage] bed they should lie in it’. Said to be associated with a strong desire to retain a positive identity as a good wife, protective feelings towards their husbands, and a wish to remain in place in their rural homes, these views would seem to conflict with the responses offered to younger generations of women — that they should leave the abusive relationship. While old women's diverse needs and wishes are acknowledged by their peers, they receive little attention from professionals, scholars, and the shelter movement. This paper examines the tensions between the older women's decisions to ‘stay’ and younger women's emphasis on ‘leaving the relationship’. The argument is made that the failure to address differences between older and younger women's needs overlooks the effects of the ageism and age‐based oppression embedded in age relations with old people. The implications of these findings for service provision and social work practice are discussed.

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