Types of Elder Abuse

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THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF ELDER ABUSE Abuse of elders takes many different forms, some involving intimidation or threats against the elderly, some involving neglect, and others involving financial chicanery. The most common are defined below. Physical abuse Physical elder abuse is non-accidental use of force against an elderly person that results in physical pain, injury, or impairment. Such abuse includes not only physical assaults such as hitting or shoving but the inappropriate use of drugs, restraints, or confinement. Emotional abuse In emotional or psychological senior abuse, people speak to or treat elderly persons in ways that cause emotional pain or distress. Verbal forms of emotional elder abuse include • Intimidation through yelling or threats • Humiliation and ridicule • Habitual blaming or scapegoating Nonverbal psychological elder abuse can take the form of • Ignoring the elderly person • Isolating an elder from friends or activities • Terrorizing or menacing the elderly person Sexual abuse Sexual elder abuse is contact with an elderly person without the elder’s consent. Such contact can involve physical sex acts, but activities such as showing an elderly person pornographic material, forcing the person to watch sex acts, or forcing the elder to undress are also considered sexual elder abuse. Neglect or abandonment by caregivers Elder neglect, failure to fulfill a caretaking obligation, constitutes more than half of all reported cases of elder abuse. It can be active (intentional) or passive (unintentional, based on factors such as ignorance or denial that an elderly charge needs as much care as he or she does). Financial exploitation This involves unauthorized use of an elderly person’s funds or property, either by a caregiver or an outside scam artist. An unscrupulous caregiver might • Misuse an elder’s personal checks, credit
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