A much higher proportion of older women than older men
live without a spouse. The National Survey on the Elderly in
Thailand in 2002 reported that 45 per cent of older women,
as against 15 per cent of older men, did not have a spouse.
Older Thai women face other disadvantages relative to men:
(a) lower level of literacy, (b) longer periods of widowhood,
(c) living alone with significantly lower household income,
(d) higher levels of morbidity and disability and (e) lower
likelihood of receiving formal retirement benefits or social
security support. As such older women more than older
men are exposed to poverty, neglect and abuse.