Introduction
In today’s society, people’s life expectancy is expected to keep on increasing due to the improved diet and health services being offered. The most visible sign of this improved quality of life is the increasing number of elderly people in our midst. Our senior citizens nowadays are more visible than before. Some of them are quite active, partaking in various excursions as they enjoy their lifelong savings. However, as they are approaching their demise, their level of activity drastically reduces and they have to rely on close relatives or nurses nursing homes to take care of them. In all regards, it is not a very pleasing job to do and cases of serious abuse in nursing homes have reached out to television screens. The level of abuse being directed towards elderly people has sort of been under the radar but organizations such as National Centre on Elderly Abuse plus countless others have brought this issue to the forefront It is estimated that “close to 2.1 million elderly people in America are victims of physical, psychological, or other forms of abuse and neglect.”(American Psychological Association). This figure is greatly undervalued since authorities believe that for every case of abuse being reported, five others go unreported. (1998)
Types of Abuse
Even though the limelight has been focused on nursing homes, the majority of abuse being reported occurs in residential houses where most elderly people are simply subjected to neglect. Some elderly people are subjected to physical abuse which involves grabbing and shaking violently. Other more extreme cases of slapping and hitting with an object have been reported. While some people might justify using physical restraints to control those who are mentally impaired or other necessary acts like force-feeding, the injuries suffered by elderly people from these acts show that such kind of force towards our elderly population is downright criminal and necessary actions should be taken. Sexual abuse does also occur but its prevalence is mostly based on speculation since the majority of the cases go unreported. Sexual abuse involves non-consensual sexual intercourse, unwanted touching when bathing them or changing their clothes, and coerced nudity.
Emotional and psychological abuse is probably the most common form of abuse. “Through verbal abuse, insults, and threats, the elderly are subjected to humiliation, harassment, and sheer mental anguish.”(2007) This kind of abuse also cuts both ways whereby they are also subjected to “silent treatment” and forced into social isolation. Financial exploitation also occurs and this can be regarded as a form of abuse. It is well known that quite a several senior citizens are well off and certain business ventures like the cruise industry are structured to appeal to them. Adding to this, a lot of crooks and conmen out there are also aware of this and they approach this elderly population with attractive get-rich-quick schemes or just befriend them and wait for the opportunity to strike. If successful, the shear stress on the elderly population is unimaginable. You might think being broke in your 30s is tough; imagine such a scenario long after you have retired and you do not have the strength to find a job.= (Hooyman).
Consequences
While the physical and sexual form of abuse might leave physical scars, these scars only scratch the surface when you consider the mental damage they will cause. First of all, the physical scars take much longer to heal due to the physical states of their anatomy. A broken arm in a middle-aged person might take 4-6 weeks to heal but in an elderly person, the physical discomfort could last for months. Looking at the emotional impact of all these forms of abuse, the level of trust they will have towards their carers will massively decline. This suspicion will also be towards their close relatives who did not even take part in the abuse. A person’s retirement age is supposed to be relaxed where you are looking forward to seeing your grandkids. However, the emotional effect of the abuse will create a strained relationship that might take months or even years to repair. It will be unfortunate if this bad blood is carried to the grave since the respective family members won’t be sure if their close relatives will abuse or take care of them when they are also old (Bristowe et al, p. 54).
Works Cited
- American Psychological Association, ”Elder Abuse and Neglect: In Search of Solutions” Web.
- Bristowe, E., and Collins, J B, “Family Mediated Abuse of Non-Institutionalized Elder Men and Women Living in British Columbia” Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect, 1989 1(1):45–54
- Hooyman Nancy R, Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect, Volume 1, Issue 2, Taylor and Francis, 1989
- National Centre on Elder Abuse, 2007, “Major Types of Elder Abuse”.
- The National Elder Abuse Incidence Study (1998) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Aging.