Mary Lou: Intimate Partner Violence in Later Life

Mary Lou, aged 78 at the time of filming, says her journey out of domestic violence began after leaving her abusive marriage of 43 years at the age of 65. Mary Lou does local public speaking about her experience, often with a domestic violence victim advocate. She has in the past been a guest of honor at the annual gala of her local domestic violence advocacy program. Mary Lou also occasionally writes letters to the editor about domestic violence-related cases or discussions that have arisen locally.

(Content warning: abuse in later life, intimate partner violence, physical abuse)

This video was produced in 2019 by the National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life (NCALL), a project of End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin: The Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Terra Nova Films under award number 2017-VF-GX-K133 awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in these materials are those of the contributors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.