Elder Abuse

Elder abuse is an intentional act or failure to act that causes or creates a risk of harm to an older adult. An older adult is someone age 60 or older. The abuse often occurs at the hands of a caregiver or a person the elder trusts. IT is the most pervasive and underreported crime across the nation. Common types of elder abuse include:

• Physical abuse is when an elder experiences illness, pain, injury, functional impairment, distress, or death as a result of the intentional use of physical force and includes acts such as hitting, kicking, pushing, slapping, and burning.
• Sexual abuse involves forced or unwanted sexual interaction of any kind with an older adult. This may include unwanted sexual contact or penetration or non-contact acts such as sexual harassment.
• Emotional or Psychological Abuse refers to verbal or nonverbal behaviors that inflict anguish, mental pain, fear, or distress on an older adult. Examples include humiliation or disrespect, verbal and non-verbal threats, harassment, and geographic or interpersonal isolation.
• Neglect is the failure to meet an older adult’s basic needs. These needs include food, water, shelter, clothing, hygiene, and essential medical care. This includes self-neglect, which is the inability of the elder to carry out daily living activities or manage personal finance.
• Financial Abuse is the illegal, unauthorized, or improper use of an elder’s money, benefits, belongings, property, or assets for the benefit of someone other than the older adult.
• Abandonment is desertion by anyone that has assumed care or custody of that person.

In Michigan, there are state laws that make “vulnerable adult abuse” a crime, and someone can go to jail if they commit vulnerable adult abuse. In this criminal law context, there are very specific definitions of vulnerable adult abuse which may be different from the explanations of types of abuse included above.

In general, the following things could be signs of any kind of elder abuse:

• Signs or the presence of another kind of abuse (because often when someone is a victim of one kind of abuse, he or she is also a victim of another kind of abuse)
• Sudden changes in behavior or routines, without explanation
• Providing inconsistent explanations for mistreatment
• Depression or confusion
• Undernourishment or dehydration
• Poor hygiene, bruises, or bedsores
• Being afraid to speak in the presence of the suspected abuser
• Deferring to the suspected abuser to answer questions, converse with others
• Seeming hesitant to talk or seek help
• Changes in finances and legal documents
• Denying, minimizing, or blaming oneself for mistreatment
• A pattern of missed appointments
• A deterioration or significant change in health condition or cognitive functioning
• Signs that the older adult is not taking prescribed drugs
• Improper administration of medication
• Absence of necessary medical equipment
• Seeming fearful, embarrassed, ashamed, humiliated, withdrawn, or depressed
• Seeming timid or confused
• Someone using assumed characteristics of old age to discredit the older adult (ageism)
• Behavior by a suspected abuser that leads the older adult to doubt his or her own perceptions (“Crazy-making” or “gaslighting”)

There are certain things that can increase a person’s risk of suffering certain kinds of elder abuse.

In general, the following things increase your risk of suffering any kind of elder abuse:

• Isolation
• Loneliness
• Physical or mental frailties or disabilities, including cognitive impairment
• Dependence or reliance on others
• The loss of someone who supported you emotionally, physically, or financially
• Your own tendency to be verbally or physically aggressive
• Having a caregiver who is unable to cope with stress, is depressed, lacks support from other potential caregivers, or perceives taking care of you as burdensome
• Having a caregiver, family members, or friends who have substance use problems or mental health challenges

There are several important things you can do to prevent elder abuse:

• Listen to older adults and their caregivers to understand their challenges and provide support
• Report abuse or suspected abuse to Adult Protective Services
• Educate oneself and others about how to recognize and report elder abuse
• Learn how the signs of elder abuse differ from the normal aging process
• Check-in often on older adults who may have few friends and family members
• Provide over-burdened caregivers with support such as:
  • help from friends, family, or local relief care groups
  • adult day care programs
  • counseling
  • outlets intended to promote emotional well-being
• Encourage and assist persons (either caregivers or older adults) having problems with drug or alcohol abuse in getting help