‘They come with a package of issues’: challenges of supporting older victims of domestic violence and abuse

In this chapter, we focus on the experiences of front line and support workers, and how they characterise the task of supporting older victims of violence within their intimate and family relationships (domestic violence and abuse; DVA). Of particular interest are the perceived difficulties associated with supporting this population, characterised as barriers to help-seeking and barriers to help-giving. This is achieved in the first instance by summarising what has already been investigated in relation to this, and then we present the findings of a small interview study conducted with six professionals whose roles involve safeguarding older adults