Battered older women are a silenced and invisible group. They are silenced by the public's assumption that they are too resistant and too frail to undergo significant change in their lives, even to escape abuse. Women over 50 years old who are abused by partners or adult children are not adequately understood and consequently are not adequately helped by current domestic violence or elder abuse intervention system. A new Milwaukee program that serves 132 women has revealed some significant similarities and differences between younger and older battered women. The older abused woman's program provides a weekly support group, volunteer mentors, and shelter and community education in addition to case management. Women are referred to the program from the lead elder abuse agency for the area, hospitals, an elderly victim assistance program, and social service agencies. Some women enter through the crisis line located at the shelter. Of the 132 women served thus far only 11 have been impaired in any major way; of these, only 5 are directly dependent on their abusers for care. The others are relatively independent despite disabilities or maintain themselves with sporadic help from medical personnel. Rather than being dependent on others, it is more likely that others are dependent on them. Of the 132 women, 52 freed themselves from abuse, 7 are working on it, and 73 are still in the abusive situation. Those most likely to stay in abusive relationships were themselves disabled or had highly dependent spouses or adult children. Others lacked sufficient resources to be able to leave. The program shows that older abused women can free themselves from abuse or make major changes to better cope with it when appropriate services are offered them. Access to government or non-government resources is critical for older women, because of the likelihood they are neither employed nor have a pension. Social Security, Medicare, and public housing have been crucial to the current cohorts of older women, and these are the supports that are being threatened by legislators who consider current supports excessively generous. 2 notes and 37 references