Definition of Abuse

‘a violation of an individual’s human and civil rights by any other person or persons. Abuse may consist of a single or repeated acts. It may be physical, verbal or psychological, it may be an act of neglect or an omission to act, or it may occur when a vulnerable person is persuaded to enter into a financial or sexual transaction to which he or she has not consented, or cannot consent. Abuse can occur in any relationship and may result in significant harm to, or exploitation of the person subjected to it’.

(Government: Department of Health, Home Office)





Elder abuse in Britain has been a hidden problem for far too long. Effective action has often been deferred on the grounds that insufficient information about the problem has been available. But the last major study of elder abuse was completed in 1992 - fifteen years ago.

Now the results of a new study have just been published - ‘The UK Study of Abuse and Neglect’. That the research had to be substantially funded by Comic Relief says volumes about the priority accorded to the problem by the Government.

The results are shocking. Nearly 350 000 older people have been subjected to some form of abuse or neglect in the last twelve months. This ranged from financial or emotional abuse through to physical violence. The figure is 4 percent of all people over the age of 65. Over 105 000 older people suffered on ten or more separate occasions.

The majority of abusers (53 percent) were living in the victim’s own home at the time of the abuse. However, the most common forms of abuse are neglect and financial abuse (theft, fraud and so on), rather than physical violence.
And these figures are clearly an underestimate, as they exclude people with dementia and those living in residential care. It is believed that older people suffering from dementia and severe depression are much more likely to be abused.

Only a very small proportion of abuse cases are ever identified by or reported to the public authorities - perhaps as few as 3 percent of the total.

Jean Gould responded on behalf of Help the Aged:
‘ Elder abuse has been a hidden taboo for too long. These latest figures point an alarming picture of the way we treat our nearest and dearest in a supposedly civilised 21st century.

‘We must bear in mind that the prevalence study has only dealt with abuse in the context of private homes, not care homes, nursing homes or hospitals, so overall levels of abuse will be higher than this.

‘What more proof do we need to take this forward and ensure abuse and neglect of older people is given equal priority and treated with the same seriousness as child abuse or domestic violence.

‘Contrary to popular belief that most abuse is carried out in care homes by professional staff, the research shows that we need to look much closer to home. Abuse of older people is happening every day and under our noses, but the awareness of it and how to stop it is stuck firmly in the shadows. Without awareness and understanding of the issue, older people will continue to be at great risk from people they trust the most.

‘Combating elder abuse starts with taking it seriously and recognising that often elder abuse is a crime and needs to be responded to accordingly, and not dismissed as simply poor or insensitive behaviour’.

Care Services Minister, Ivan Lewis, said on Radio 4:
‘The findings are disturbing. I think there are real cultural issues in our society in the way we treat older people. What we need to aim for is a society where we are as outraged by the abuse and neglect of an older person as we are by the abuse of a child, and we are a long, long way from it.

Mr Lewis went on to say that those who abuse older people should be treated by the courts in a similar fashion to child abusers:
‘Sentencing policy does take account of the vulnerability of the person, so an older person who is being abused, exploited, neglected due to the fact that they are old and perhaps frail - that would be an aggravating factor in sentencing policy. ...(But) in the end, it is also about the responsibilities, the support of families and communities’.



The Time for Action is Now

Through its ‘Enough is Enough’ awareness raising campaign, Help the Aged is urging everyone, including people working with older people, to adopt a zero tolerance approach to elder abuse. In particular the charity is calling for:

* Better and more proactive enforcement of the criminal law, both by the Police and the Criminal Prosecution Service;

* Training in the prevention and recognition of elder abuse to be a mandatory element of all staff training for anyone who has a frontline role working with older people, including doctors, nurses, social workers, and council staff;

* Elder abuse to be treated with the same degree of seriousness and priority as child abuse and domestic violence;

* Better justice for older people and greater awareness within the legal and law enforcement professions - for example, Help the Aged wants adult protection to be a compulsory part of police training;

* Increased vigilance for signs of potential financial abuse by financial institutions and solicitors, and effective action to reduce its prevalence;

* Better and more preventative measures to support carers to prevent avoidable abusive situations arising;

* Better support and empowerment of older people - through effective advocacy, advice, and victim support measures;

* Regular reviews of care plans and provision of social care support to ensure that older people are not forced to remain in an abusive environment through a lack of appropriate alternative provision.
Source : Help the Aged