Health and Disability

Local and national experts on domestic violence and the elderly said that while research focuses on younger victims, assaults are likely just as prevalent among the elderly. In 2012, about 5 percent of domestic violence victims in New Jersey — or 2,900 of all reported cases — were 60 or older, according to the New Jersey State Police Uniform Report on Domestic Violence. But they were the victims of 18 percent of domestic murders – seven out of 38.

And the elderly population is often underserved by services for battered women and overlooked by research on domestic violence.

“In Bergen County, in less than 12 months, we’ve had two [cases of domestic homicide involving elderly couples], so it’s pretty obvious it’s a problem,” said Elaine Meyerson, executive director of the Center for Hope and Safety in Bergen County (formerly called Shelter Our Sisters). “The question is, how do we get to them when so many of them are housebound, to teach them about safety planning? It’s a challenge, and they shouldn’t have to suffer living in a violent home, just like a 20-year-old.”

The motives in domestic homicides involving the elderly are often obscured by issues typical of aging, such as illness and isolation.