Elder Abuse Is a Serious Problem

By Administration on Aging

Each year hundreds of thousands of older persons are abused, neglected and exploited by family members and others. Many victims are people who are older, frail, and vulnerable and cannot help themselves and depend on others to meet their most basic needs.

Legislatures in all 50 states have passed some form of elder abuse prevention laws. Laws and definitions of terms vary considerably from one state to another, but all states have set up reporting systems. Generally, adult protective services (APS) agencies receive and investigate reports of suspected elder abuse.

The 1998 National Elder Abuse Incidence Study funded in part by AoA found the following:

• 551,011 persons, aged 60 and over, experienced abuse, neglect, and/or self-neglect in a one-year period;
• Almost four times as many new incidents of abuse, neglect, and/or self-neglect were not reported as those that were reported to and substantiated by adult protective services agencies;
• Persons, aged 80 years and older, suffered abuse and neglect two to three times their proportion of the older population; and
• Among known perpetrators of abuse and neglect, the perpetrator was a family member in 90 percent of cases. Two-thirds of the perpetrators were adult children or spouses.

Generally Accepted Definitions

Elder abuse is an umbrella term used to describe one or more of the following:

• Physical abuse is the willful infliction of physical pain or injury, e.g., slapping, bruising, sexually molesting, or restraining.
• Sexual abuse is the infliction of non-consensual sexual contact of any kind.
• Emotional or psychological abuse is the infliction of mental or emotional anguish, e.g., humiliating, intimidating, or threatening.
• Financial or material exploitation is the improper act or process of an individual, using the resources of an older person, without his/her consent, for someone else's benefit.
• Neglect is the failure of a caretaker to provide goods or services necessary to avoid physical harm, mental anguish or mental illness, e.g., abandonment, denial of food or health related services.
• Self-neglect is characterized as the behavior of an elderly person that threatens his/her own health or safety.

Reporting Elder Abuse

To report elder abuse, contact APS through your state’s hotline. The APS agency screens calls for potential seriousness, and it keeps the information it receives confidential. If the agency decides the situation possibly violates state elder abuse laws, it assigns a caseworker to conduct an investigation (in cases of an emergency, usually within 24 hours). If the victim needs crisis intervention, services are available. If elder abuse is not substantiated, most APS agencies will work as necessary with other community agencies to obtain any social and health services that the older person needs.

The older person has the right to refuse services offered by APS. The APS agency provides services only if the senior agrees or has been declared incapacitated by the court and a guardian has been appointed. The APS agency only takes such action as a last resort.

The Role of the Administration on Aging

AoA has a strong commitment to protecting seniors from elder abuse. Our community-based long-term care programs allow millions of seniors to age in place with dignity. AoA also supports a range of activities at the state and local level to raise awareness about elder abuse. These activities include training law enforcement officers and medical professionals in how to recognize and respond to elder abuse cases, conducting public awareness and education campaigns, and creating statewide and local elder abuse prevention coalitions and multi-disciplinary teams.

AoA funds the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) to serve as a resource for the public and for professionals. NCEA consists of a consortium of six partners: the National Association of State Units on Aging, the lead agency; the Commission on Law and Aging of the American Bar Association; the Clearinghouse on Abuse and Neglect of the Elderly of the University of Delaware, which has an on-line searchable database; the San Francisco Consortium for Elder Abuse Prevention of the Institute on Aging; the National Association of Adult Protective Services Administrators; and the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse.

NCEA provides elder abuse information to the public and to professionals; offers technical assistance and training to elder abuse agencies and related professionals; conducts short-term elder abuse research; and assists with elder abuse program and policy development. It manages an elder abuse list serve for professionals in the field, and it produces a monthly newsletter. NCEA's website contains many resources, including a list of the state elder abuse hotlines and information on publications, community coalitions, and upcoming conferences.