Nowadays, improvement in medical facilities and lifestyle has increased life expectancy worldwide, resulting in an increased older population. There are many social problems worldwide and elder abuse is most significant. Elder abuse is not common in developing countries, but is a cause of concern in developed countries. In Australia, approximately 13% (2 million) of its population are 65 or above and this will reach 18% in 2021. This problem was unknown in Australia until recently but after the publication of some articles in 1975 it came to light. This essay will focus on elder abuse in Australia, types of elder abuse, risk factors or causes and an evaluation of strategies used to address elder abuse in Australia.
Firstly, it is critical to
…show more content…
Physical abuse is one type which means giving physical pain or injury to older adults; for example, hitting, slapping, pushing and/or burning, taking away or controlling an aid, such as moving a wheelchair or walker out of reach. Secondly, sexual abuse which includes sexual harassment or (rape) forcing to take part in unwanted sexual activity. Next is psychological abuse, which involves actions causing fear of violence, relationship, feeling of shame, powerlessness (like verbal intimidation) threats of physical harm, lack of love and affection and talking about ‘how hard it is to provide care’ in front of older people. Next, WHO (2002b) states financial abuse in which younger ones give importance to property of elders without affection to them, withholding knowledge of their bank account balance or household bills or use their property without permission; in a way which may cause psychological impact. Finally, neglect means a lack of elder care; for example, inadequate food, shelter, clothes, medical care, poor hygiene or personal care. A lack of time spent with elders is also neglect as they are often …show more content…
All have the same goal to eradicate this serious social problem. Under these strategies proper rights are given to elder people and attention is given to prevent the elder abuse. The national government of Australia started a working party in 1994 and its goal was to provide a detailed report of responsibilities of the government in preventing elder abuse; particularly physical and psychological abuse (Working Party on the protection of frail older people, 1994). In addition, in 1990 a research project commissioned by the commissioner on ageing was published (McCallum, Maliasz & Graycar 1990). This provided information on the scope and nature of elder abuse in South Australia and a framework for government response. This program has been delivered by the Aged Rights Advocacy Service (ARAS) since 1997. The South Australian Ageing Plan 2006 commits the government to zero tolerance of violence towards older people. Under NSW taskforce on abuse of older people, 1993 proper training is given to staff on how to deal with older people. In 1997, The Queensland Government developed an Elder Abuse Prevention Unit (EAPU) and its main focus is on prevention and response to elder abuse in Queensland (www.eapu.com.au). The Australian Capital Territory (ACT Health, 2004) has implemented another strategy; “Meeting the challenges of Elder
Some of these cases of abuse are done in elderly homes by family members. In the first section of the article, the authors discuss the definition of elder abuse. The authors began with the most common types of elder abuse, which are physical and neglect. Elder abuse is the intentional use of physical force that results in acute or chronic illness, bodily injury, physical pain, functional impairment, distress, or death (Choi NG & Mayer J. In summary, the rhetorical analysis essay discusses how elder abuse and neglect affect the victims physically, emotionally, and professionally.
Elderly abuse should be a crime that is made into a law. Once someone create the act of abusing an elderly, they should be taken into custody to be taken to jail. Elderly abuse is crucial and people should understand they are human beings. Financial abuse is one of the worst abuses in assisted living facilities. Everythin...
slapping, bruising, or restraining by physical or chemical means” (What is Elder Abuse? , 2016). No one deserves to be abused no matter the age. We need to love and protect the elderly around us. Not just for the sake of the elderly, but also because we are doing what God values, which is love others.
In the medical field, the workers are highly trained to be able to make a distinction between what is right and what is wrong. Elder abuse is becoming a serious issue in the health environment. As defined in the website, MedicineNet.com, elder abuse is: “the physical, sexual, or emotional abuse of an elderly person, usually one who is disabled or frail”. The older population consists of people over sixty-five years old. They are very fragile and sometimes they are forgotten or abused. The elderly can be victims of mistreatment in nursing homes, hospitals, or even in their own house. Nursing is the act of promoting health for others, and of providing care and security with the skills nurses have acquired. However, those who are nursing can also harm, or hurt people by advising them. Elder abuse can take many forms such as financial abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse.
I will be describing the first three. Emotional Abuse (also known as: Verbal abuse, mental abuse, and psychological cruelty) includes acts or the failures to act by parents or caretakers that have caused or could cause serious behavioral, cognitive, emotional or mental disorders. This can include parents and/or caretakers using extreme or bizarre forms of punishment, such as the child being confined in a closet or dark room, being tied to a chair for long periods of time, or threatening or terrorizing a young child. Less severe acts, but no less damaging, are overly negative criticism or rejecting treatment, using degrading terms to describe the child, constant victimizing or blaming the child for situations. Neglect (the failure to provide for the child?s basic needs) can be physical, educational, or emotional.
With respect to older women, the issue is that there is a serious lack in differentiating between elder abuse and domestic violence. The discrepancy causes confusion as to what agency to report either volunteered or mandated cases of abuse (Kilbane & Spira, 2010). Furthermore, it is because of reporting errors that victims of abuse may not receive the services that are congruent to the type of abuse (Kilbane & Spira, 2010) indicating, “…a lack of centralized reporting of cases….” (Kilbane & Spira, 2010, p. 165).
Elder abuse is causing emotional, physical or sexual harm, financial exploitation, or intentional or unintentional neglect to someone of greater age, whether it be from a family member or a stranger. Elder abuse has been a social issue for many years prior to any kind of legislation being made. Victims of elder abuse are often older adults ages 60 to 75 and the person abusing the elder is usually someone the victim knows, but could be a stranger in certain cases.
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
PHYSICAL ABUSE: Grabbing, pinching, shoving, slapping, hitting, hair pulling, biting, etc. Denying medical care or forcing alcohol and/or drug use. SEXUAL ABUSE: Coercing or attempting to coerce any sexual contact without consent, e.g., marital rape, forcing sexual contact after physical beating, attacks on sexual parts of the body or treating another in a sexually demeaning manner. ECONOMIC ABUSE: Making or attempting to make a person financially dependent, e.g., maintaining total control over financial resources, withholding access to money, forbidding attendance at school or employment.
Of nursing home staff interviewed in 2004, nearly 40% admitted to committing at least one psychologically abusive act toward a resident and 10% admitted to physically abusing a resident in the preceding year.[1] Not only are nursing home residents at risk of being abused by their caretakers but they are also at risk of being restrained, which may lead to a form of abuse. With five percent of the elderly population, or one to two million instances of elder abuse occurring yearly there is no doubt that elder abuse deserves serious consideration.[2]
Physical abuse can be more than one being hit, it also includes “Withholding access to resources necessary to maintain health, for example, medical care, food or fluids, sleep, hygienic assistance, etc.” (“Five Forms of Domestic Violence,” n.d.). Sexual abuse can include: forcing one to commit a sexual action against his or her will, rape, or even “undermining one’s sexuality (“Five Forms of Domestic Violence,” n.d.). Psychological abuse can contain, but is not limited to: threats, intimidation, or stalking. Emotional abuse has a range of many factors, but some things are: criticism, name-calling, and insults. As for economical abuse, it is usually referred to when the abuser withholds money from the victim, but it can also include the abuser forbidding the victim from employment, harassing one at his or her job, control of the money, etc. (“Five Forms of Domestic Violence,”
In addition, just like with children, this dependency can lead to abuse and/or neglect. There has been an increase in the number of elderly people 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 protection (National Research Council Panel to Review Risk and Prevalence of Elder Abuse and Neglect, 2003)” (Meadows, 2010, p. 87).
When the elderly person moves into a family’s home they are then put in very close contact with the family and may be in this close contact for an extended period of time. The aforementioned tension caused by the financial burden of taking in the elderly person may lead to hard feelings of the family towards the elderly person. These feelings may themselves lead to elder abuse or may just continue to stack up against the elderly person until someone in the family makes the decision to start to abuse the elderly
Social isolation has to do with when older people retire, thus cutting off an important source of social activity. Declining health also increases isolation by making it hard to get around. Death of friends, neighbors, family members, and spouses also contribute to this issue and consequently make a new one, a higher risk of death. Months after a spouse dies, the partner is at a higher risk of death due to depression henceforth leading to suicide. Retirement is a big part of aging which many younger people do not think about. As a result of a fluctuating economy, many people are very cautious about giving up working and staging or maybe even not retiring. Elderly abuse is defined as a range of behavior that includes passive neglect, active emotional and verbal mistreatment, and even life-threating physical violence. For example unfairly taking some other property or wrongfully taking an older person’s money, but most of these cases go undetected because many are afraid to speak out. Some fear the abuse will increase and for this reason they don’t file a complaint (Macionis). There are many different political viewpoints concerning