“Are you able to walk? Asked the bank clerk.”: Everyday legal problems and access to justice from the perspective of older people

Abstract

In the last two decades, the question of older people's legal rights and their access to justice have attracted increasing research attention. However, there is little comprehensive, current research on what older people themselves consider important for accessing justice in the many everyday situations that have legal dimensions. This article presents a thematic analysis of elicited narrative data consisting of 324 stories about legal problems experienced by older adults, written by the older adults themselves (78 %), and their loved ones (22 %). The collected stories describe a wide range of problems, particularly regarding social care and healthcare, respect for older adults' self-determination, economic difficulties, family conflicts, and sometimes abusive situations. Frequently mentioned barriers to resolving these problems included difficulties navigating the bureaucratic “systems” of authorities and service providers, digital challenges, financial issues, the impact of physical or cognitive constraints, and, ageist attitudes. We argue that these barriers to justice, often considered in the context of problem-solving, are also connected to how the problems arise in the first place. Everyday events, such as trying to access healthcare or manage financial matters, can turn into legal problems when faced with such barriers. We conclude that older people's access to justice may be limited by ageist attitudes and societal failures to accommodate their needs. Studies that listen to older individuals are essential for an in-depth understanding of the factors that influence their access to justice.