Later Life/Elder Abuse

Estimates indicate that one million Americans 60 years of age or older are abused in their homes annually while only one case in 14 is ever reported. (1, 2) Like their younger counterparts, older victims often choose not to report for a multitude of reasons fear, shame, isolation, perceptions about available options and concerns about the person who is hurting them. If victims have health problems limiting their independence and the perpetrators are also their caretakers, concerns about who will provide the care or whether they will be moved to a nursing home also can become issues. Studies point out that abuse in later life is most often long-term abuse, also know as domestic violence grown old (3), and that the abuser is usually the intimate partner.

The forms of abuse older victims describe are similar to those experienced by other victims of domestic violence but can be exacerbated by age, declining health and special needs all of which the perpetrator can use to control the victim (limiting access to medical care, over-medicating, withholding assistive devices, etc.). There are some differences, however, in the experiences of older victims as they tend to be invisible to the general population because of ageism and the cultural norms of their generation. They also are much less likely to call a local domestic violence program, so go unidentified in data.

Assisting an older person in need of safety and support while assuring the individuals right to self-determine can present significant challenges to service providers and others concerned about that persons well-being.

It should be noted that in Pennsylvania elder abuse does not carry a mandatory reporting requirement except in certain institutional settings.

Prevalence

In 1999, an alarming 470,702 cases of abuse and neglect were reported to adult protective services throughout the United States, a 62% increase since 1996 (National Center on Elder Abuse, 2001)

The National Elder Abuse Incidence Study found that in almost 90% of cases the perpetrator was family member. (National Center on Elder Abuse, 1998)

According to PCADV Subcontractor reports, 1,655 victims age 60 and older received services in 2006 from a domestic violence program

Pennsylvania's Response

In 1999, PCADV entered into a collaborative training project with the Pennsylvania Department of Aging to enhance safety and access to services for older victims of domestic violence throughout the Commonwealth. One of the projects primary goals was to guide direct service providers in the aging and domestic violence systems and their colleagues within the victim service community on establishing a coordinated response to meet the needs of victims, age 50 and older. The project resulted in the following accomplishments

• Cross-training curriculum (Domestic Violence in Later Life: From A Web of Fear and Isolation to A Community Safety Net)
• Regional trainings to domestic violence advocates and the staff of county-based area agencies on aging, other service providers and law enforcement
• Community awareness campaign that distributed brochures, posters and bookmarks to aging and domestic violence service providers
• Systems changes for both aging and domestic violence services

Fact Sheet

Abuse in Later Life Wheel, developed by the National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life

Resources

PCADV Curriculum Domestic Violence in Later Life: From A Web of Fear and Isolation to A Community Safety Net. 2001

Technical Assistance , Policy and Program Development:

• National Center on Abuse in Later Life
• Calgary Womens Emergency Shelter, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, offers groups and developed the handbook,Older Womens Long Time Survival

If you suspect an older person is being abused you can

• Educate yourself about the issue of domestic violence in later life.
• Identify the local domestic violence program in your area and contact them for information and/or support.
• Be supportive of the older victim by listening to them and providing them with information. Avoid telling them what they SHOULD do.
• If you work in the social services sector, call the local domestic violence program for training for your agency.
• If you see an escalation in the abuse or fear for someones immediate safety, report the suspected abuse to the local office of the Area Agency on Aging, found under ABUSE in the blue pages of the telephone book.