In this episode, Anna Lempriere speaks with Dina Holder, Community Engagement Manager at the Women’s Centre, about domestic abuse and family violence - particularly as it affects older people and those with dementia. With honesty, warmth, and deep experience, Dina shares how abuse can go unrecognised, why older adults are often underserved, and what support is available. This conversation offers insights for anyone on the dementia pathway or concerned about someone they know.
⚠️ Please note: this episode discusses sensitive topics that may be triggering for some viewers.
Resources
- The Women's Centre Cornwall: https://www.womenscentrecornwall.org.uk/
- Safer Cornwall: https://safercornwall.co.uk/domestic-abuse-sexual-violence/
- First Light: https://www.firstlight.org.uk/
- Dementia and longstanding domestic abuse: There is a surprisingly limited amount of research on this topic although findings from Dr Lucy Knight and Professor Marianne Hester’s research highlights that the onset of dementia in the situations studied led to an escalation in the severity of the domestic abuse: http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/pdf/Knight%20Lucy.pdf
- Domestic abuse and the co-existence of dementia: https://dewischoice.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Dewis-Choice-Dementia-and-Domestic-Abuse-18.7.24-1-compressed.pdf
- The combination of dementia and domestic abuse is all too often overlooked: https://theconversation.com/the-combination-of-dementia-and-domestic-abuse-is-all-too-often-overlooked-139535
- Care Provider Response to Domestic Abuse and supporting people living with dementia and their carers: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5cea59cc8648df0001e6810d/t/61a0ab7cf2f8dd6d6dac33ee/1637919619007/domestic-abuse-and-dementia.pdf
- Knowsley’s Dementia and Domestic Abuse Toolkit https://knowsleysafeguardingadultsboard.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Domestic-Abuse-and-Dementia-.pdf
- Dementia and Domestic Abuse – Dewis Choice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6gD3SqVnhM
Discover Voices (c) 2025, a production by registered charity, disAbility Cornwall & Isles of Scilly.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com