ABSTRACT
Early professional focus was on elder abuse and has expanded to safeguarding of vulnerable adults, a term that may include older people, and most recently guidance has included domestic violence in the categories of abuse to which safeguarding applies. This chapter evaluates the new landscape for adult safeguarding from the perspectives of gender and ageing. It reflects upon the potential in the Care Act 2014 in relation to safeguarding and abuse. Notions of autonomy and coercion are central to the conceptualisation of abuse and consequent safeguarding response and in particular the chapter explores the inclusion of domestic violence of older women as a safeguarding issue. Safeguarding workers need to know about criminal options and injunctions whilst retaining an emphasis on support and prevention. There are potential advantages of including domestic violence within safeguarding practice. These include helping the victim conceptualise their abuse and rendering the involvement of professionals of different agencies more acceptable.
