This past week, June 15th, was Elder Abuse Awareness Day. While we don’t usually think about elder abuse, it might be easy to push it under the carpet and refuse to believe that this ever occurs. Sadly, it is a real problem that hurts the ones we love. Awareness and knowing what to look out for is the only sure way of helping to put this crime to an end. This means understanding that there are different forms of elder abuse.
WHO ABUSES THE ELDERLY?
While there can be many culprits to this crime, unfortunately, the most prevalent suspects are relatives of our older loved ones. While they may not intend to abuse the parent, it often happens due to neglect or anger with the lack of independence that they once sought in the elderly patient.
Caregivers are also high on the suspect list. This often happens because the family decides to find a more economical solution to home care than one that has been bonded and trained in the art of working with the older person or the disabled.
You should be on the lookout for others, as well. Neighbors, friends, and strangers can all be responsible of elder abuse.
WHAT TYPES OF ELDER ABUSE CAN OCCUR?
There are many forms of elder abuse and you should have a basic understanding of the categories that might occur with your loved ones. These include:
Physical Abuse – possibly the most widely thought of form of abuse. This would encompass inflicting pain or injury on the senior.
Sexual Abuse – this would be any form of non-consensual sexual contact.
Financial Abuse – this is theft of the senior’s income or savings without consent.
Emotional Abuse – this is use of threats or humiliation to cause stress or anguish to the elder adult.
Problems occur because the senior may be unwilling or unable to report the abuse and they fear that if they complain, no one will be able to help them. However, there are local government agencies available to help. If you are a senior or the loved one of an elderly person who you think may be the victim of abuse, you should contact our office at the Kabb Law firm and we will help direct you to the right organizations to help stop the abuse.
You can contact Kabb Law at: 216.991.KABB (5222).
