Sexual assault of older women in Australia

Norma’s Project: A research study into the sexual assault of older women in Australia is a study from Rosemary Mann, Philomena Horsley, Catherine Barrett and Jean Tinney at the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University.  Norma is the mother of one of the researchers, who was sexually assaulted in 2011 at the age of 83 by a male staff member in a residential aged care facility.  The perpetrator was not convicted due to a lack of forensic evidence, despite Norma's ability to clearly identify him. 

The researchers of Norma's Project found that such assaults occur in many settings and circumstances and that there is a lack of community awareness surrounding the issue.  The project aims to increase awareness of this important issue both within the community and amongst service providers, and to strengthen the community’s ability to prevent, respond to and speak out about the sexual assault of older women.