When left unchecked and unaccounted for, some circumstances can bring out the worst in people. Although capable of the highest acts and virtues, given some tweaks in circumstances, anyone can just as easily swoop down to their primeval instincts of power play and aggression. This turn of events can consequently go downhill and make way for elder abuse to happen.
In the end, its worth noting that this is a legal term. Therefore, it has set standards and definition. All injuries directed against and elderly person may have exceptions and may not qualify as such. It does not have to be merely physical. For example, an old lady getting beaten up by hooligans or an old man getting robbed and mugged downtown are not instances of senior abuse, per se.
It was the WHO that brought worldwide attention to this actuality. With the specification of senior maltreatment as a societal problem, more organizations, agencies, and partners have stepped up to the challenge. There is now an organization called the INPEA, which is a network of orgs that seek to raise awareness and proffer ways to change the ongoing trend. There is a World Awareness Day designated for this social problem, slated on June 15.
Therefore, there is a clear cut definition on what counts as thus. According to the World Health Organization, in particular, it is a nonaccidental act, whether single or repeated, that occurs in an imbalance of relationship roles, where there is an overhanging expectation of reliability and trust in one party, who incurs distress or harm. Needless to say, there can be quite many particularities and technicalities where this is involved, and a bit of definition should never come amiss.
Aside from that, you have emotional and psychological maltreatment. That comes with humiliating or distressing a person. Perhaps the aggressor may be using an emotional bait to threaten or coerce the elder. Verbal invectives, such as in name calling, ridiculing, yelling, blaming, and some such are considered as part of it. There are more nebulous involvements as well, like if the caretaker somehow ignores, shuns, and withdraws from the elder, causing emotional upheavals and distress.
Anyway, there are many different trends in this phenomenon, and they can be culture dependent. For example, the elderly are given very high status in some cultures, and therein, they are more likely to be greatly respected. In some societies, extended families are pretty much common, and that is why it is easier for everyone to delegate the care of their senior to each other and be commonly accountable. Filial piety is stronger is some nations more than others.
Mostly, the responsible party is a composite of people that the elder knows, and most probably has a relationship with. For example, it may be a spouse or a similar partner, it may be any other family member, friend, and even neighbor and caretaker. Generally, just about any person that the senior relies on for one reason or another. That is why this kind of happening is often subsumed in more general headings like family or domestic violence.
The boundaries are really over the top here. Theres the legal definition of elderly offense. However, what constitutes as such can still differ by jurisdiction. For example, in some states, abandonment is culpable since it endangers the wellbeing and welfare of the senior. Theres rights abuse, which impinges on the constitutional and civil rights of the older person. Self neglect, though a personal choice, is still considered answerable to the closest filial relation in some states. And then theres the controversial institutional maltreatment, which happens in settings that supposedly provide elderly care and assistance, such as in nursing homes and hospices.
The challenges in this enterprise are uncountable. There are great, many barriers in obtaining the needed statistics. The worse kinds are the abuses that are hidden and committed in privacy. It could also be that the victim himself or herself is unwilling to report and testify. In cases of cognitive decline, like dementia, authorities may be inclined not to take them seriously. The challenges, then again, are great and numerous. However, with societal force, they can be overcome.
In the end, its worth noting that this is a legal term. Therefore, it has set standards and definition. All injuries directed against and elderly person may have exceptions and may not qualify as such. It does not have to be merely physical. For example, an old lady getting beaten up by hooligans or an old man getting robbed and mugged downtown are not instances of senior abuse, per se.
It was the WHO that brought worldwide attention to this actuality. With the specification of senior maltreatment as a societal problem, more organizations, agencies, and partners have stepped up to the challenge. There is now an organization called the INPEA, which is a network of orgs that seek to raise awareness and proffer ways to change the ongoing trend. There is a World Awareness Day designated for this social problem, slated on June 15.
Therefore, there is a clear cut definition on what counts as thus. According to the World Health Organization, in particular, it is a nonaccidental act, whether single or repeated, that occurs in an imbalance of relationship roles, where there is an overhanging expectation of reliability and trust in one party, who incurs distress or harm. Needless to say, there can be quite many particularities and technicalities where this is involved, and a bit of definition should never come amiss.
Aside from that, you have emotional and psychological maltreatment. That comes with humiliating or distressing a person. Perhaps the aggressor may be using an emotional bait to threaten or coerce the elder. Verbal invectives, such as in name calling, ridiculing, yelling, blaming, and some such are considered as part of it. There are more nebulous involvements as well, like if the caretaker somehow ignores, shuns, and withdraws from the elder, causing emotional upheavals and distress.
Anyway, there are many different trends in this phenomenon, and they can be culture dependent. For example, the elderly are given very high status in some cultures, and therein, they are more likely to be greatly respected. In some societies, extended families are pretty much common, and that is why it is easier for everyone to delegate the care of their senior to each other and be commonly accountable. Filial piety is stronger is some nations more than others.
Mostly, the responsible party is a composite of people that the elder knows, and most probably has a relationship with. For example, it may be a spouse or a similar partner, it may be any other family member, friend, and even neighbor and caretaker. Generally, just about any person that the senior relies on for one reason or another. That is why this kind of happening is often subsumed in more general headings like family or domestic violence.
The boundaries are really over the top here. Theres the legal definition of elderly offense. However, what constitutes as such can still differ by jurisdiction. For example, in some states, abandonment is culpable since it endangers the wellbeing and welfare of the senior. Theres rights abuse, which impinges on the constitutional and civil rights of the older person. Self neglect, though a personal choice, is still considered answerable to the closest filial relation in some states. And then theres the controversial institutional maltreatment, which happens in settings that supposedly provide elderly care and assistance, such as in nursing homes and hospices.
The challenges in this enterprise are uncountable. There are great, many barriers in obtaining the needed statistics. The worse kinds are the abuses that are hidden and committed in privacy. It could also be that the victim himself or herself is unwilling to report and testify. In cases of cognitive decline, like dementia, authorities may be inclined not to take them seriously. The challenges, then again, are great and numerous. However, with societal force, they can be overcome.
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