Elder Abuse and Justice
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A multi-agency collaboration involving designing and testing a range of restorative approaches to enable victims of elder abuse in private domestic settings explore justice-seeking options.
IRAS ID
184690
Contact name
Alan Clarke
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Aberystwyth University
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 9 months, 30 days
Research summary
The study's focus is on the decision-making by older people (60 years and over) in relation to justice provision in cases of elder abuse in family settings. It will explore, inter alia, how restorative approaches may help to build positive empowering relationships. In the design stage, the research team will work with practitioners and representatives from older people’s groups to design restorative approaches tailored to older people. This will involve using case study examples and role-playing exercises to critically assess the potential strengths and limitations of various restorative models. The idea is to construct flexible restorative models that prioritise the safety and well-being of victims of low to medium abuse.
During the implementation stage, older people referred to the project via social services will be visited by a Choice Support Worker, who will explain the various justice seeking options available to them. The options are the criminal justice system, the civil courts, and a restorative approach. Well-being will also be explored. Individuals who choose a restorative option will meet with the Choice Practitioner, who will describe how a restorative approach can be delivered. Subject to the agreement of both the victim and the harmer, a family meeting(s) may be held, which will give the older person an opportunity to describe how they have been affected by the actions of the harmer. The primary purpose of the meeting is to enable the two parties to agree on how the harm might be repaired.
The restorative intervention will be evaluated and data collected from both victims and harmers. Information will be collected from both victims and harmers in order to establish the effectiveness of restorative models. This will involve studying audio-visual recordings of the restorative family meetings and interviewing the principal participants.
REC name
Social Care REC
REC reference
16/IEC08/0034
Date of REC Opinion
8 Sep 2016
REC opinion
Unfavourable Opinion