ISSUES
: Domestic Violence
Chapter 1: Domestic violence
15
Elder abuse
Many older people experience some form of abuse in the home.
E
lder abuse is a single or repeated act, or lack
of appropriate action, occurring within any
relationship where there is an expectation of
trust that causes harm or distress to an older person.
Elder abuse includes physical, sexual, psychological,
emotional, financial and material abuse; abandonment;
neglect and serious loss of dignity and respect.
Key facts
National surveys conducted in predominantly high-
income countries find wide variation in rates of abuse
in the preceding 12 months among adults aged over
60 years, ranging from 0.8% in Spain and 2.6% in the
United Kingdom to upwards of 18% in Israel, 23.8% in
Austria and 32% in Belgium.
Elder abuse can lead to serious physical injuries and
long-term psychological consequences, including
depression and anxiety.
Elder abuse is predicted to increase as many countries
are experiencing rapidly ageing populations.
Findings from the survey
Although public and professional information
campaigns to raise awareness about elder abuse are
reported in many countries, elder abuse is one of the
least-investigated types of violence in national surveys,
and one of the least addressed in national action plans.
Prevention approaches
Strategies to prevent elder abuse include efforts to raise
professional awareness and train practitioners; inform
the public about how to identify the signs and symptoms
of elder abuse and where help can be obtained, and
improving policies and practices in residential care
facilities for elderly people. There is, however, very little
research on the effectiveness of any such programmes
in preventing elder abuse, and this is a critical gap to fill.
Ö
Ö
The above information is an extract from the
Global
status report on violence prevention 2014
(GSRVP
2014), pages 78–79 (
injury_prevention/violence/status_report/2014/
report/report/en/).
© World Health Organization 2016
None (no implementation at all)
Limited (implemented once or a few times)
Larger scale (e.g. across many schools or
communities or has reached 30% or more of the target population)
24%
23%
40%
34%
36%
43%
Professional awareness campaigns
Professional awareness campaigns aim to improve professionals’ ability to
identify and deal effectively with suspected elder abuse cases. While they can
increase such knowledge, their effectiveness depends on the strategies in place
to deal with a suspected case once identified.
Public information campaigns
Public information campaigns aim
to increase public awareness
about elder abuse, promote
positive attitudes towards older
people and encourage the
respectful, dignified treatment of
older people. They may help to
raise the visibility of elder abuse
and change social norms that are
supportive of elder abuse.
Proportion of countries that reported implementing a particular strategy
Source: At a glance, Elder Abuse, WHO, 2015
