In another aspect of domestic violence, that which is carried out by children against elderly parents, the person responsible for GIAV, argues that these victims want the aggressors to be treated and not punished.
“Often, that elderly person always says to us: ‘I only reported it because I want my son or daughter to get treatment'”, he reported.
According to the psychologist, in the case of the elderly, the main aggressors are their children, grandchildren and sometimes the caregiver, “sometimes involving mental health issues” or consumption.
“They don’t want punishment so much, they want more rehabilitation from the point of view of consumption, whether alcohol or drugs, or even mental health issues”highlighted the researcher and university professor.
In the case of the elderly, there are situations in which, given their fragility, “all measures” with the victims are carried out at home or in the institution where they are residing.
“It is also important for the court itself, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, in the area where we are in Lisbon, to have this sensitivity towards victims, especially fragile victims who have difficulties in terms of physical mobility, sometimes also the issue of mental health”, highlighted Iris Almeida.
The GIAV coordinator also confirmed that, “in recent years”, more elderly people have been accompanied in the spacesomething that he associates with a context of crisis in the country.
“Whenever we have a crisis, and we currently live in a situation where housing prices are very expensive, what often happens is that these children return to their parents’ house. […] and then demand. And we end up having intergenerational conflicts”, he argued, adding that this had already been felt at GIAV “when the last crisis was”.