United against Elder Abuse

Jun 10, 2015

Millions of older persons are abused, neglected, and exploited. Once a year on June 15, communities and municipalities around the world plan activities and programmes to recognize World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD). It’s an opportunity to share information and spread awareness about abuse, neglect, and exploitation in later life. Everyone can make a difference, but together, we can unite as one nation.

WEAAD was first established by the United Nations five years ago in an effort to raise public awareness about elder abuse in its many forms: physical, sexual, psychological, financial, discriminatory and neglect by omission or commission.

Raising public awareness of the issue of elder abuse is vital if this problem is to be tackled. WEAAD serves as a call to action for individuals, organisations and communities to raise awareness about the different forms of elder abuse. WEAAD is an international initiative, and events to raise awareness are being organised across the globe.

What is elder abuse?
Elder abuse is mistreatment of an older person that is committed by someone with whom the older person has a relationship of trust such as a partner, family member, friend or carer. Elder abuse may be physical, social, financial, psychological or sexual and can include mistreatment and neglect. Elder maltreatment can lead to serious physical injuries and long-term psychological consequences.

Sometimes family, friends and carers may not know that their actions amount to elder abuse.

The World Health Organization describes elder abuse as a violation of human rights and a significant cause of illness, loss of productivity, isolation and despair. (WHO 2002 Active Ageing Policy Framework). As such, it is an issue that affects not only the person who is impacted directly but also the broader community.

Older people have the right, just like people of all ages, to live safely, free from harm, abuse, and exploitation. Any actions that breach this right are a form of abuse.

Who is affected by elder abuse?
Elder abuse is a problem that exists in both, developing and developed countries, yet is typically underreported globally. Prevalence rates or estimates exist only in selected developed countries — ranging from 1 to 10 per cent of older people. Elder abuse has been shown to affect women and men, people from different cultural backgrounds, people with different levels of education and wealth, and both city-dwellers and country folk. The incidence of abuse towards older people is predicted to increase as many countries experience rapidly ageing populations. Although the extent of elder abuse is unknown, it is nonetheless a global social issue which affects the health and human rights of millions of older persons around the world, and an issue which deserves the attention of the international community.

Domestic elder abuse generally refers to any of the following types of mistreatment that are committed by someone with whom the elder has a special relationship (for example, a spouse, sibling, child, friend, or caregiver).

Institutional abuse generally refers to any of the following types of mistreatment occurring in residential facilities (such as a nursing home, assisted living facility, group home, board and care facility, foster home, etc.) and is usually perpetrated by someone with a legal or contractual obligation to provide some element of care or protection.

Elder abuse can affect people of all ethnic backgrounds and social status and can affect both men and women. The following types of abuse are commonly accepted as the major categories of elder mistreatment:

--Physical Abuse — Inflicting, or threatening to inflict, physical pain or injury on a vulnerable elder, or depriving them of a basic need.
--Emotional Abuse — Inflicting mental pain, anguish, or distress on an elder person through verbal or nonverbal acts.
--Sexual Abuse — Non-consensual sexual contact of any kind, coercing an elder to witness sexual behaviours.
--Exploitation — Illegal taking, misuse, or concealment of funds, property, or assets of a vulnerable elder.
--Neglect — Refusal or failure by those responsible to provide food, shelter, health care or protection for a vulnerable elder.
--Abandonment — The desertion of a vulnerable elder by anyone who has assumed the responsibility for care or custody of that person.

Although there are distinct types of abuse defined, it is not uncommon for an elder to experience more than one type of mistreatment at the same or different times. For example, a person financially exploiting an elder may also be neglecting to provide appropriate care, food, medication, etc.

Elder Abuse: The Size of the Problem

Elder mistreatment (i.e. abuse and neglect) is defined as intentional actions that cause harm or create a serious risk of harm (whether or not harm is intended) to a vulnerable elder by a caregiver or other person who stands in a trust relationship to the elder. This includes failure by a caregiver to satisfy the elder’s basic needs or to protect the elder from harm.

Unfortunately, we simply do not know for certain how many people are suffering from elder abuse and neglect. It appears that female elders are abused at a higher rate than males and that, the older one is, the more likely one is to be abused.

Signs of elder abuse may be missed by professionals working with the elderly because of lack of training on detecting abuse. The elderly may be reluctant to report abuse themselves because of fear of retaliation, lack of physical and/or cognitive ability to report, or because they don’t want to get the abuser (90 per cent of whom are family members) in trouble.