• Home
• Helping Someone
• Crime Victim Advocacy
• Other Types of Crime
• Elder Abuse

• Home
• Helping Someone
• Crime Victim Advocacy
• Other Types of Crime
• Elder Abuse

Elder Abuse

Types of abuse to elderly individuals vary widely. The Elderly may be victimized by family, friends, acquaintances, or strangers.

The abuse may include:

Physical Abuse: pushing, shoving, slapping, hitting, strangulation, kicking, beating, threatening with or using an object or weapon.

Emotional Abuse: name calling, threats, insults, isolation, threatening in a degrading manner, yelling.

Financial: theft, destruction or misuse of property, exploitation of belongings, property, or money.

Neglect: withholding daily needs – food, personal care, or medication, withholding medical care, over or under sedation.

Sexual: unwanted touching, rape, calling someone sexual names, making remarks with sexual undertones.

Victims of Elder Abuse:

• Typically, 75 years of age or older.
• Usually female.
• Lives with and is dependent on a family member or caretaking.
• May be mentally or physically impaired.

Abusers are:

• Usually related to the elderly person – whether a spouse, adult son or daughter, grandchild, or other relative – lives with and provides care for the elderly person 75% of the time.
• The presence of an elderly person needing additional care can cause stress that contributes to the caregiver’s abusive behavior.
• The caregiver may be abusive without counting in stress as a factor. Using power and control to achieve a desired outcome