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Essay on the routine activities theory
Essay on the routine activities theory
Essays on elderly abuse
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Overview:
As of 2010, 13% of the United States population was 65 years of age or older (National Center on Elder Abuse, 2014). Men and women today are living longer and want to remain in their own homes as long as they possibly can, rather than reside in a nursing home or an assisted living facility. In order for these men and women to remain at home, they need support and resources, as there are a number of different types of abuse against elderly men and women. These types of abuse including physical abuse, verbal/emotional abuse, financial exploitation, and even the rare occasion of sexual abuse that occurs at home. This paper will discuss the issue of elder sexual abuse within one’s own home and from one’s own family member. Routine Activity Theory will be used to discuss the conditions that exist in order for elder sexual abuse to occur, and what society as a whole can do to recognize and prevent abuse.
Forms of Elder Sexual Abuse:
Sexual abuse against elderly men and women is categorized into two forms: hands on (contact offenses) and hands-off (non-contact offenses) (Ramsey-Klawsnik, 1995). Hands-on offenders include those offenses where the offender makes physical contact with the elder. Hands-on offenses can include anything from touch, foundling and kissing to oral, anal, and harmful genital practices (Ramsey-Klawsnik, 1995). These offenses can have severe physical injury to an elder. Common injuries include damage to an elders genitals or rectal area as well as sexual transmitted diseases (Teitelman, Copollio, 2002). Hands-off offenses are often less obvious to recognize include sexual harassment, threats of sexual violence, sexual jokes, forced viewing of pornography or exposure to ones private parts (Ramsey-Klawsnik...
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...rm Home Health Care, 12 (12-20)
Ramsey-Klawsnik, H (2000). Elder abuse offenders: A typology. Generations. 24 (2).
Roberto, A., K & Teaster, B., P. (2005). Sexual abuse of vulnerable young and old women. A comparative analysis of circumstances and outcomes. Violence Against Women, 11. 473.
Teitelman, J., & Copollio, A. (2002). Sexual abuse among persons with Alzheimer’s disease: guidelines for recognition and intervention. Alzheimer’s Care Quarterly, 3 (3). 252-257.
Teitelman, J (2006). Sexual abuse of elder adults- appropriate responses for health and human services. Journal of Health and Human Services Administrations, 19. 209-227.
The 188th General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. (2014). General Laws: Department of Elder Affairs- Chapter 19A, Sections 14-26. Retrieved from https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleII/Chapter19A/
Schewe, P., Riger, S., Howard, A., Staggs, S., & Mason, G. (2006). Factors Associated with Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Victimization. Journal Of Family Violence, 21(7), 469-475. doi:10.1007/s10896-006-9042-2
According to RAINN, (2009) approximately 10 per cent of all victims of sexual assault and abuse are adult and juvenile males. In terms of the nature of assault, real figures include a compendium of reported incidents ranging from unwanted sexual touching to forced penetration. To qualify this statement, it must be understood that the percentage does not reflect a vast number of crimes that go unreported due to issues that will be discussed in the present paper.
Feminist Criminology, 7(2), 146-162. Kinder-Matthews, J. & Co., Ltd. (1994) The 'Standard' of the 'St Working with female sexual abusers. (pp. 57-67). The 'Secondary' of the Miccio & Fonseca, L.C. a.
Gender-based violence has been recognized as a large public health problem as well as a violation of human rights worldwide. One out of three women has been beaten, coerced into sex, or abused in another way at least once in her life (www.infoforhealth.org). The abuser is usually a member of the family, introducing the difficult problem in that the abuse usually happens behind closed doors, and is often viewed by cultural norms and legal systems as a family matter rather than a crime.
The selection of whether an abused older adult should enter an adult protection agency or a domestic violence program is often dependent on her age and whether or not the abuser is of relation or known to the victim (Kilbane & Spira, 2010). The concept of being known to the perpetrator is similar to US law regarding sexual abuse of a child, whereas, according to Fong and Cardoso (2010) child sexual abuse comes in many forms; however, some forms of child sexual abuse does not qualify a child victim for services provided by the child protection agency. To reap the benefits of the child protective agency, “…the perpetrator of sexual abuse needs to be responsible for the care and custody of the child” (pp. 313). One can argue that there is a moral failure of the legislative body to pass laws that does not provide the needed protections for older woman against perpetrators. The requirement of the perpetrator needing to be known to the older victim appears unjust for the older woman. For example, older women suffer from dementia which renders her forgetful of the individual/caregiver (Reingold, 2006). In this scenario, the perpetrator of the abuse may not be known to the victim ...
Burton, D. & Smith-Darden, J., North American Survey of Sexual Abuser Treatment and Models 2000, Brandon, VT: Safer Society Foundation, 2001.
One form of infringement upon an individual’s natural rights is sexual abuse. Sexual abuse is an unfortunate reality in our society, and can be considered the ultimate form of torture, as there are several layers of physical, mental, and emotional damage. Sexual abuse can be defined as unwanted sexual contact in a situation involving at least two parties consisting of the victim and the offender. Some types of sexual abuse include unwanted light contact, such as kissing or touching; threatening or pressuring a person into sexual activity; molestation, regardless of child or adult; and violent sexual activity or rape (“What is Sexual Abuse”). There is prominent data supporting the prevalence of sexual abuse in the U.S, along with media attention of later confessions of both victims and perpetrators shows that the iss...
Elders who are abused have a 300% higher risk of death when compared to those who had not been abused. The impact is felt even by those seniors who were moderately abused. Research has also demonstrated that seniors who are abused suffer from increased levels of psychological distress and have decreased levels of confidence and self-sufficiency as compared to those not abused (Comijs, Penninx, Knipscheer, & van Tilburg, 1999). Additionally, victims also have a higher incidence of health related problems to include: bone and joint disorders, digestive problems, depression, anxiety, mental health problems, chronic pain, high blood pressure, and heart problems (Coker, Davis, Arias, Desai, Sanderson, Brandt, 2002).
Briggs, David., et al. Assessing Men Who Sexually Abuse. United Kingdom: Jessica Kingsly Publishers, 1998.
Sengstock, M. C., & Hwalek, M. (1986). Domestic abuse of the elderly: Which cases involve the police? Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 1(3), 335-349. doi:10.1177/088626086001003006
Elder abuse is “a single or repeated act or lack of appropriate action occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust, which causes harm or distress to an older person or violates their human and civil rights” (UCD and HSE 2012). It is inappropriate actions against an older person that harms them and defys them in any way and violates them as a human being. The forms of abuse can be physical, sexual. psychological, financial or material abuse , neglect on acts of commission or discriminatory abuse.(UCD and HSE 2012). There are different kinds of abuse and abusing patterns that can happen to an elder person such as Long-term abuse, Opportunistic abuse, Situational abuse, Neglect of a person’s needs, Institutional abuse, Unacceptable forms of ‘treatments’ which include acts of punishment, racist and discriminatory practice, failure to get access to key services such as health care or any other forms of care. Mishandling of benefits or Fraud or intimidation in connection with wills, property ...
Every American should have the right to live free from the fear of abuse. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen. The National Center on Elder Abuse Administration on Aging (NCEA) stated, “In the United States, the 2010 Census recorded the greatest number and proportion of people age 65 and older in all of decennial census history: 40.3 million, or 13% of the total population. This “Boomer Generation” effect will continue for decades”. This suggests that with the population of elders increasing, the abuse of elders will grow much higher. Elder abuse if defined as intentionally causing harm to a vulnerable elder by a caregiver or someone they trust. There are five main types of abuse; Physical, sexual, neglect, emotional or psychological
Upon growing older there are many decisions to be made. Among one of the most difficult and perhaps most important decisions is where the elder person will live and how long-term care needs will be met when he/she is no longer capable of doing so independently due to the incapacity that accompanies many with old age. Nursing homes seem to be the popular choice for people no matter the race, gender, or socioeconomic status with 1.5 million Americans being admitted to them yearly.[3] Because nursing homes are in such a high demand and are not cheap, $77.9 billion was spent for nursing home care in the United States in 2010 alone, they are under criticism of many professions including the legal profession, which is in the process of establishing elder law as a defense to issues with in the elder community. Nursing homes have a duty to provide many things to the elderly including medical, social, pharmaceutical, and dietary services so that the individual may maintain the highest well-being possible.[4] Stated another way 'a nursing facility must care for its residents in such a manner and in such an environment as will promote maintenance or enhancement of the q...
Sexual assault is a worldwide epidemic that has long lasting and devastating effects on the victims. The terms sexual abuse and sexual assault are often used interchangeably. Most often the term “sexual abuse” is used when the victim is under the age of 18 and “sexual assault” is used when the victim is over the age of 18. For the purposes of this paper, “sexual assault” will be most often used as this provides a better description of the impact it has on the victims. Women are more often the victim than men; however, all races, cultures, and societies are affected by sexual assault and child sexual abuse (Davies and Jones, 2013). It is nearly impossible to determine exactly how many women have been victimized. There are two primary reasons that make such estimates difficult. First, there are so many different definitions and terms used to describe sexual abuse and assault and definitions vary from state to state (Holcomb and Holcomb, 2011). According to Holcomb and Holcomb (2011, p 27), sexual assault is used as an overarching term, encompassing a large number of sexual behaviors – physical, verbal, and psychological – that violate the health and well-being of an individual. Holcomb and Holcomb (2011) provides their own definition of sexual assault as “any type of sexual behavior or contact where consent is not freely given or obtained and is accomplished through force, intimidation, violence, coercion, manipulation, threat, deception, or abuse of authority” (p. 28). In contrast to Holcomb and Holcomb’s broad definition of sexual assault, many researchers advocate for a more narrow interpretation to prevent over reporting, thus inflating statistics (Holcomb and Holcomb, 2011). The Lancashire Sexu...
There has been an increase in the number of elderly that have been subjected to violence and mistreatment. This type of treatment is associated with the individual’s dependency on others; whether it be a relative, acquaintance and/or institution (Meadows, 2010). According to estimates “between 1 and 2 million Americans aged 65 years or older have been injured, exploited, or otherwise mistreated by someone on whom they depended for case or protection (National Research Council Panel to Review Risk and Prevalence of elder abuse and neglect, 2003)” (Meadows, 2010, p. 87). The type of abuse that elderly get subjected to is not only physical, it may also be emotional. Obviously, abuse may take on many different forms and may include: financial abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect. This abuse is not limited to certain circumstances it can happen in poor, middle-class or upper income household. This includes a variety of demographs and ethnicities (Meadows, 2010). Anyone may potential cause abuse and/or neglect.