Contributions to address violence against older adults during the Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil

Abstract Most Brazilian state and municipal governments have used social distancing as the primary strategy for reducing the transmission speed of the new Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), which causes COVID-19. However, this social isolation has had several adverse repercussions, including increased intrafamily violence against children, adolescents, and women. Recently, violence against older adults (VAOA) during the pandemic has also been on the agenda of concerns, although discussing possible strategies for coping with VAOA during COVID-19 is still unimpressive worldwide. Aiming to broaden the debate on the theme in Brazil, this paper aims to offer theoretical elements and evidence from previous studies for a greater understanding of the situation of vulnerability of older adults to situations of violence, of the possible motivations for the increased number of cases of VAOA during the COVID-19 pandemic, and possible strategies to address the problem.