Domestic violence is an escalating pattern of violence or intimidation by an intimate partner, which is used to gain power and control. There may have been a strained relationship or emotional abuse earlier that got worse as the partners aged.
Some perpetrators abuse drugs or alcohol.
For a discussion of the relationship between abuse and substance abuse, click here . Older women whose relationships with their spouses or intimate partners were abusive or strained when they were younger. The following publications were produced by the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse. For more information and instructions on how to order them, click here . The following publications were produced by the Goldman Institution on Aging.