Ageing agony: Rape against elderly women

Introduction: Rape is a type of sexual assault and brutal, demeaning, cruel act perpetrated without concern. Despite extensive research on rape, especially in India, there exists an important gap in knowledge around elderly victims. The rapist has been considered by many clinicians as the victim of uncontrollable urges or the recipient of a disordered personality. Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the situation during the commission of the crime and what was the relationship between the victim and the offender in committing the heinous crime. Methods: In this research, data were obtained from print media and electronic media from 2004 to 2018. A total number of 49 cases were found reported during this period of work. This study is based on quantitative findings using the unobtrusive method of content analysis. The elderly women aged 60 and above were taken for the study. Results: The results show that cruelty was involved in more than one-fourth of the cases. In most of the cases, victims were targeted as they were alone in their homes. In some cases, the offenders were found in a state of inebriation at the time of the crime. The crime was committed mostly by the impulsive type rapist. Conclusions: The findings challenge the social norms and have implications for future research, policy, and practice.