Over 31% of Wisconsin Domestic Violence Homicide Victims Were 50 or Older: The Overlooked Risk of Abuse in Later Life
Domestic violence impacts people across the lifespan, including older adults. Yet, older survivors are often overlooked in conversations about domestic violence, and their experiences remain largely invisible. When people do think about domestic violence in later life, they often believe it is less severe or less likely to become lethal. Wisconsin’s domestic violence homicide data tell a different story.
In 2025, 19 of Wisconsin’s 60 domestic violence homicide victims—over 31%—were age 50 or older. Over the past five years, 84 people age 50 and older were killed in domestic violence homicides, accounting for 26% of all victims. Older adults are not a small or isolated part of the domestic violence homicide picture. Year after year, they represent a significant share of lives lost.
A review of the domestic violence in later life homicides over the past 10 years shows the number of older victims is increasing. From 2021–2025, 84 people age 50 and older were killed in domestic violence homicides, compared with 65 during the previous five-year period—a 29% increase. At the same time, older adults continued to represent approximately the same proportion of all domestic violence homicide victims: 26% in both five-year periods. In other words, older adults are not becoming a larger share of homicide victims; the problem itself is growing, and older adults are experiencing that increase alongside younger victims.
The 2025 data also illustrate how family and intimate partner violence can change across the lifespan. In 2025, 55% of victims 50+ were killed by intimate partners, 35% by their adult children or grandchildren, and 10% were bystander victims of a domestic violence situation. Among victims age 50 and older, 10 were in their 50’s, 6 in their 60’s, 1 and their 70’s and 2 in their 80’s. These patterns reinforce that domestic violence in later life cannot be understood solely through the lens of intimate partner violence. Older adults may experience violence from current or former partners as well as adult children, grandchildren, and other people within their family or trusted networks.
The connection between domestic violence and suicide is particularly important in later life. In 2025, 42% of domestic violence homicide victims age 50 and older—8 of 19—were killed in murder-suicide incidents. Half of all domestic violence murder-suicides in Wisconsin last year involved victims 50 and older. Both domestic violence homicides involving victims age 80 and older were murder-suicides. These findings highlight the importance of considering suicidality—including threats or attempts to harm oneself—as a critical risk factor when assessing the lethality risk of domestic violence.
Wisconsin’s aging population makes this issue increasingly important. Today, approximately 38% of Wisconsin residents are age 50 or older, and more than one in five are age 65 or older. The state’s population is projected to continue aging substantially in the coming decades. An aging population means more people will be living in the age groups in which abuse in later life can occur—and our systems must be prepared not only to make existing services available to older survivors, but ensure that those services are responsive to the realities of later life.
Older adults face similar dynamics of power and control and lethality risk factors as younger survivors, but age can create different dynamics and additional barriers to safety. An older adult may depend on a partner or family member for housing, transportation, finances, health care, or assistance with daily activities. At the same time, older adults who experienced domestic violence homicide contradict stereotypes of older adults being frail, isolated, or dependent on others for care. The 2025 homicide cases primarily involved older adult victims who were active and independent in their homes and communities. Some cases involving intimate partners and family members also reflected complex relationship dynamics in the context of mental health concerns or alcohol and other drug use—circumstances that can increase risk and vulnerability but do not cause or excuse violence. These challenges make intentional inclusion essential. If domestic violence services, prevention efforts, and community responses are designed primarily with younger survivors in mind, older adults can remain invisible—even when they are experiencing some of the most severe forms of violence. Accessibility means more than making a service physically accessible. It means ensuring that older adults can recognize themselves in our outreach, access services in ways that meet their needs, and receive responses that account for the realities of aging, caregiving, family relationships, health and mental health.
The 2025 homicide data make one thing clear: older adults must be part of our comprehensive approach to prevent and address domestic violence. Making older victims visible in the data is an important first step toward making sure they are visible in our services, policies, and communities—and toward ensuring Wisconsinites can age with the safety and dignity we all deserve.
Read the 2025 End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin Homicide Report
The National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life (NCALL), an initiative of End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin, works at the intersection of domestic violence, sexual assault, and elder abuse. Through training, technical assistance, and resources, NCALL helps communities recognize abuse in later life and build responses that promote safety, dignity, autonomy, and justice for older adults. To learn more about abuse in later life, visit our website at www.ncall.us
Written by Kristin Burki, Director, National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life (NCALL)