What Is Elder Abuse

Elder abuse is a general term used to describe harmful acts toward an elderly adult such as physical abuse sexual abuse emotional or psychological abuse financial exploitation and neglect including self neglect.

What is elder abuse. The world health organization defines elder abuse as 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 elder abuse occurs in many terrible forms. Alone more than half a million reports of elder abuse reach authorities every year and millions more cases go unreported. This is called elder abuse. Elder abuse is an intentional act or failure to act by a caregiver or another person in a relationship involving an expectation of trust that causes or creates a risk of harm to an older adult.

Elder abuse includes physical emotional or sexual harm inflicted upon an older adult their financial exploitation or neglect of their welfare by people who are directly responsible for their care. It can come from a caregiver a family member or a neighbor. Each year hundreds of thousands of adults over the age of 60 are abused neglected or financially exploited. These include physical abuse sexual abuse emotional abuse financial material exploitation neglect abandonment and self neglect.

Cdc s works to understand the problem of elder abuse and prevent it. The national center on elder abuse distinguishes between seven different types of elder abuse. Abuse can happen in many places including the older person s home a family member s house an assisted living facility or a nursing home. In general elder abuse is a term referring to any knowing intentional or negligent act by a caregiver or any other person that causes harm or a serious risk of harm to a vulnerable adult.

Elder abuse also called elder mistreatment senior abuse abuse in later life abuse of older adults abuse of older women and abuse of older men is a.