Introduction
Imagine being bedridden, having to be dependent on someone to care for you in order live your everyday life. Time has passed and now your caregiver has become less attentive. You are lying in your own feces and urine. There are sores all over your body that have not been treated. Nobody has come to check on you for hours, this is neglect. Elder abuse has been the least reported because they are usually forgotten. It can happen anywhere, to anyone. From nursing homes to even your own home, abuse and neglect could be happening. Abusers could be your caregivers, nurses or even your own family. One in ten Americans aged sixty and above, have experienced some kind of elder abuse (Elder Abuse Facts). Although people with social isolation and mental impairment are more at risk for abuse, there could be a chance that it will happen to your loved ones or even yourself (Elder Abuse Facts).
History
Abuse and neglect could happen to anyone at any time. Although seniors with mental impairments such as Alzheimer’s and dementia, are more vulnerable to abuse and neglect, elder abuse could be unpredictable (Elder Abuse Statistics & Facts). There are estimates as high as five million elders who are abused each year, yet it is the least reported. (Elder Abuse Statistics & Facts). There are only one in fourteen cases of elder abuse that is reported to the authorities each year (Elder Abuse Statistics & Facts). Often times elder abuse takes place in their own homes. In almost 60% of incidents of elder abuse, the abusers usually end up being a family member (Elder Abuse Statistics & Facts). Sometimes, people take on the responsibility to care for their elderly, but are too busy and could end up neglecting them. (Elder or Dependent Adult Neglect).
Elder abuse first appeared when the efforts to help the elderly started increasing. In the 1960s the idea of increasing care for elderly people sparked the start of projects to create protective services (History). A project at Benjamin Rose Institute compared elders who were receiving protective services and those who were not. They found that people receiving protective services had “a higher mortality rate and higher nursing home placement rate” than those who did not receive these services (Elder Mistreatment). Despite the results of the Institute’s project results, many associations and organizations have been created to prevent and protect the elderly from abuse and neglect. An example is the National Adult Protective Services Association with their mission “to improve the safety and independence of older persons and adults with disabilities who are victims of abuse, neglect, self-neglect, or financial exploitation” (History). Associations like this work to help protect victims that have experienced a form of elder abuse.
Social Effects
Elder abuse affects many different people. One in ten elders experience abuse each year (Besdine). From “neglect or financial exploitation” elder abuse is a major problem that has been under reported (Besdine). Older people who are socially isolated and need to assistance with basic everyday tasks are more vulnerable to abuse than the people who are capable of taking care of themselves. Most of the time the abuser is someone that the victim knows personally, in fact, 90% elder abuse is done by family members (Besdine). They will sometimes take on the responsibility, but are not prepared for it so they will be overwhelmed. Feeling helpless and overwhelmed are common reasons of abusers (Nursing Home Abuse Guide). There are no reasons that should lead to abuse, but there are people who like having power over someone. Not only could elders be mistreated or physically abused, they could also be abused financially. The National Center on Abuse states that elderly “that have suffered abuse have a 300% higher risk of death” (CDC). As the population of people ages 60 years or older increases, the risk of elder abuse also increases. From attorneys to medical treatment, the cost of elder abuse is very high. Not only can it be traumatic for the victim, but their family will be financially affected as well. Elder abuse is often overlooked, but it is actually happening without getting reported. Family members who count on nursing homes to care for elder relatives might believe that their needs are cared for and can go unaware of abuse. In a society where the cases elder abuse is very high, people may end up being afraid of growing old due to fear of becoming a victim of abuse (Nursing Home Abuse Guide).
Examples
There are multiple cases of elder abuse: the most common are verbal abuse, physical abuse, and financial abuse. Elders tend to be frail and can’t really defend themselves, which makes physical abuse the worse kind. Anytime that an abuser causes a senior citizen any harm, it is considered to be physical abuse. Verbal abuse could cause emotional distress, even just yelling is considered abuse. Financial abuse could be charging for care, but fail to provide it (Elder Abuse & Neglect). In all of the reports of abuse, more than half a million are of elder abuse (Elder Abuse & Neglect). The worst thing about elder abuse is how most of the cases go unreported.
Elaine was unmarried and lived alone, as she grew old she found that it was harder for her to do yard work and home repairs, so she decided to hire Charles to assist her. At the age of 84, Elaine began having symptoms of dementia, which Charles saw an opportunity to use her. Instead of hiring a caregiver, Charles managed to convince Elaine to hire him. He used her illness to “upgrade his lifestyle”. He stopped sending her bills, so she would think that she forgot to do them, just so he could get access to her finances. Once people were suspecting that something was going on with Elaine, Charles began to isolate her from her friends and loved ones. Her condition slowly got worse in the hands of Charles, she became incontinent and even lost her eyesight. Charles found it more difficult to care for her, so he started mistreating and neglecting Elaine. Once he figured that there was no way he could care for her, he took her to the hospital-Elaine died days after being hospitalized (“A Story of Elder Abuse”)
Solutions
Now that elder abuse is starting to become more acknowledged, many agencies and organizations, such as the Adult Protective Services, work to prevent elder abuse and help those that have been suffered from abuse. These organizations alone can’t end the elderly abuse epidemic, one in six Americans will experience elder abuse (“Righting the Wrong of Elder Abuse” 1). Other solutions that could help prevent elder abuse are: spreading awareness of elder abuse, respite care, and limiting isolation by visiting an older relative or volunteering at nursing homes.
One solution to prevent elder abuse is spreading awareness that elder abuse exists, because it is underreported. There are only one in four cases that are actually reported each year. It is important to spread awareness of elder abuse because it is likely to go unnoticed (“Elder Abuse” 1). By education people of elder abuse, others might take precautions when deciding who will care for their elder family member. Not only will it inform families of abuse, but also nursing homes could also be more careful when hiring nurses in order to assure that no abuse will happen.
Another solution is respite care (“Elder Abuse” 1). Respite care is temporary care that relieves caregivers who are caring for seniors. Not only will it give caregivers a break from their busy job, but it would also reduce their stress. Stress could be a factor of abuse because they could be overwhelmed and end up taking it out on someone that they are caring for. By giving caregivers time off, it will be less overwhelming for them which will reduce the chances of negligence.
Some elders that are in need of care are bedridden and cannot physically move from one place to another. They are the ones that have higher risks of neglect. There are multiple solutions that could prevent isolation. People can visit their elder relatives often to make sure that they are doing well and that they are cared for properly. If you have no elder relatives, there is also volunteering to visit nursing homes and making friends with the seniors who live there. By visiting often, elders will become less isolated. It gives them more people who look out for them, which could lower the risk of abuse.
There are numerous solutions that can help end the elderly abuse epidemic, but it requires people to take action. As elder abuse becomes more and more apparent, solutions such as educating others, taking advantage of respite care, and preventing isolation are important to help eliminate the horrible epidemic of elder abuse. Even just reporting it could put an end to this epidemic.
Camus and Absurdity
Albert Camus believed that life was meaningless and that it was absurd how we all spend our whole lives trying to discover the meaning of life (Maguire 1). In Camus’ “The Myth of Sisyphus”, Sisyphus rolls a boulder to the top of the mountain every day just to watch it roll down again. Camus summarizes life as “backbreaking labour without purpose, payoff, or end. Then you die.” (Rayner 1). Camus’ beliefs completely contradicts the whole meaning of trying to end elderly abuse. These elders are fighting to live without being harmed or neglected, trying not to die. It is the complete opposite of what Camus believed. Here we are trying to live and continue finding the purpose in life, Camus would have thought it was absurd. He believes that everyone is going to die anyways- he probably would have thought, what was the point of fighting against elder abuse if everyone dies?
Conclusion
Elder abuse is an awful epidemic that often happens to go unnoticed. These seniors are only trying to find help to be able to live their everyday lives because they cannot do it themselves anymore. They do not deserve to be abused by the same people who are capable of living their own lives without any help. As time goes by, we can only hope that elder abuse is recognized as a huge problem, so that more people can take action against it. Now, it is our job to do all that we can to finally put an end to this epidemic.
Works Cited
AdminNEW. “A Story of Elder Abuse.” Special Needs & Disability Attorneys in Cleveland OH, www.hickman-lowder.com/resources/published-articles-of-interest/213'.
American Psychological Association, American Psychological Association, www.apa.org/pi/aging/resources/guides/elder-abuse.aspx.
Besdine, M.D. Richard W. “Why Elder Abuse Is Everyone's Problem.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 16 Mar. 2015, www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-w-besdine-md/why-elder-abuse-is-everyones-problem_b_6878928.html.
“Elder Abuse.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs357/en/.
“Elder Abuse Statistics & Facts | Elder Justice.” NCOA, 8 Aug. 2017, www.ncoa.org/public-policy-action/elder-justice/elder-abuse-facts/#intraPageNav3.
“Elder or Dependent Adult Neglect.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 18 May 2017, www.psychologytoday.com/conditions/elder-or-dependent-adult-neglect.
“Elder Abuse and Neglect.” Elder Abuse & Neglect: Spotting the Warning Signs and Getting Help, www.helpguide.org/articles/abuse/elder-abuse-and-neglect.htm.
“History: About Adult Protective Services from 1960 to 2000.” National Adult Protective Services Association, www.napsa-now.org/about-napsa/history/history-of-adult-protective-services/.
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Maguire, Laura. “Camus and Absurdity.” Philosophy Talk, www.philosophytalk.org/blog/camus-and-absurdity.
Rayner, Tim. “Camus, Absurdity, and Revolt.” Philosophy for Change, 23 Sept. 2014, philosophyforchange.wordpress.com/2010/05/17/camus-authenticity-and-revolt/.
“Read ‘Elder Mistreatment: Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation in an Aging America’ at NAP.edu.” National Academies Press: OpenBook
“Righting the Wrong of Elder Abuse.” Elder Abuse Solutions, elderabuse.org/?gclid=CjwKCAjw-6bWBRBiEiwA_K1ZDbEFVdvmSdDSRBU4FtAJShxBKaZ_vh0SjfI7aOcmPkuFzBqg-M6jihoC7JoQAvD_BwE.
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