At the outset of the pandemic, the Commissioner established an action group of organisations to work together to ensure that older people can access the support they need if they are at risk of, or experiencing, abuse and to raise awareness of this abuse amongst professionals and the public.

As the Domestic Abuse Bill makes its way through Parliament, the Commissioner has been working with members of the House of Lords to ensure that the voices and experiences of older people are reflected in the discussions around the legislation. A key area for improvement is the collection of data relating to older people’s experiences of domestic abuse.

The Commissioner wrote on behalf of the action group to Sir Ian Diamond, the UK national statistician, in November 2020 to make the case for the England and Wales Crime Survey to remove the upper age limit of 74 for collecting data relating to domestic abuse. Following these calls, as well as support from others including Age UK, it has now been confirmed that this age limit will be removed, and that data will begin to be collected for all ages. The Commissioner will be meeting with Sir Ian Diamond over the coming weeks to discuss how this will be taken forward.
Read the Commissioner’s full statement welcoming the announcement

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