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Abuse of older persons goes largely unnoticed, according to secretary-general's report to be launched Tuesday 26, February
Physical,
sexual and emotional abuse of older persons, as well as their financial
exploitation, commonly go unnoticed and unreported, with only the most
severe cases commanding attention, according to a new report by the
Secretary-General to be launched at a press conference at 11 a.m. on
Tuesday, 26 February. The report emphasizes the need for global
action to combat these serious violations of the human rights of older
persons. While
global statistics are sorely lacking, and the domestic abuse of older
persons in particular is grossly under-reported, a number of studies have
been conducted at the national level. Perpetrators
of violence and abuse against older persons, studies show, are more often
than not family members, friends and acquaintances. However, abusers
can also include strangers who prey on older persons and commercial
organizations that defraud older
clients. In
the United States, a study by the National Center on Elder Abuse noted a
150 per cent increase in incidents of abuse between 1986 and 1996.
The study showed that perpetrators of the abuse were most frequently adult
children (37 per cent), followed by spouses (13 per cent) and other family
members (11 per cent). In
Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom, surveys show that 3 to 10 per
cent of older persons have been reported to be abused or neglected.
In Argentina, 45 per cent of an urban sample of older persons reported
mistreatment, with psychological abuse the most
frequent form. A
study of abuse in institutional settings in the United States found that
10 per cent of nursing staff admitted to having committed at least one act
of physical abuse of an older person, while 36 per cent had witnessed such
an incident. Forty per cent of staff
admitted to having verbally abused a resident in the preceding 12
months, while 81 per cent reported to have observed psychological abuse. While
statistical data is particularly limited for developing countries,
non-statistical sources such as criminal records, media reports and
small-scale studies show that abuse of older persons is a widespread
problem. "Scapegoating", for instance, occurs when older
people, usually women, are blamed for ills befalling the community,
including drought, flood or epidemic deaths. Incidents have been
reported where women have been ostracized, tortured, maimed or even killed
if they failed to flee the community. In
many cases, older persons are vulnerable to abuse because of their
dependency on others. Individuals at high risk are often mentally or
physically impaired due to conditions such as dementia or disability.
Other risk factors include poverty, childlessness, living alone and social
isolation. Motivation by older persons to conceal mistreatment
include fear of institutionalization, fear of retaliation, desire to
protect the abuser from the consequences of their acts, shame and
embarrassment, as well as the victim's perception that the abuse is
expected or deserved.
Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging
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