Violence, gender and elder abuse: Towards a feminist analysis and practice

The relationship between gender, violence and elder abuse is examined and the selective claiming and framing of this important social problem by ‘experts’ from the family violence’ field is questioned. It is argued that such selectivity functions to individualize and privatize what are essentially political problems and in particular to screen out a feminist analysis by rendering gender‐specific behaviours as gender neutral. An attempt to chart the beginnings of a feminist analysis and practice of elder abuse is made and the question of why feminists have been slow to take an interest in this area is related to ageism within the movement.