In Their Own Words: Domestic Abuse in Later Life

The U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime recently released a downloadable training guide to accompany  the training DVD In Their Own Words: Domestic Abuse in Later Life. This video presents five stories of abuse in later life conveyed by the survivors as well as interviews with the professionals who worked with them.

Additional segments address emergency housing, support groups, and effective advocacy--three critical issues for older victims of abuse. The DVD includes a role-play segment to support an interactive workshop on discerning justifications used to excuse abuse, neglect, and/ or financial exploitation of an older adult. The accompanying training guide offers comprehensive guidance to trainers on using the DVD, including background information on domestic abuse in later life.

This training package is designed for practitioners who encounter older victims of domestic abuse and to facilitate discussions about the dynamics of abuse in later life, barriers to living free from abuse, interventions, and potential collaborations to address the needs of victims.

The video can be ordered from the following link. http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/ShoppingCart/ShopCart.aspx?item=NCJ+227928
Video clips can be previewed online at: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/library/videoclips.html (scroll down)
Downloadable training guide: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/publications/infores/pdftxt/InTheirOwnWords.pdf