How to Protect Your Senior From Elder Abuse

Unfortunately, some people choose to prey on a senior’s more fragile physical state. They know that an elderly person is often less likely to stand up to physical or mental abuse, particularly if they can’t hear or see as well or think as clearly as they used to. Family members who care for elderly loved ones should be aware of this potential for abuse, and should take steps to protect their senior.

The most common kinds of elder abuse

• Physical abuse: When a family member, caretaker, or other person in your elderly loved one’s life uses non-accidental force that results in pain and injury. This can include shoving or hitting, as well as inappropriate use of drugs, restraint, or confinement.
• Emotional abuse: When this kind of abuse takes place, a person treats your loved one in a way that causes them pain. This may be by threatening or intimidating them, through humiliation and ridicule, by ignoring them or isolating them, or by routinely blaming them. 
• Neglect: This can be intentional or unintentional. Your senior may suffer from poor nutrition or hygiene, lack of social interaction, or fail to receive necessary medical treatment.
• Financial abuse: This is when a person uses a senior’s financial information and bank accounts in an inappropriate way. They may forge the person’s signature, engage in identity theft, steal money, or misuse that elderly individual’s private banking information.

Those who care for seniors should take their complaints seriously. Instead of assuming that they misunderstood a situation, ask for more details about what took place. If it’s possible that some form of abuse has happened, investigate the situation further and report any necessary information to authorities. Don’t just assume that your loved one is exaggerating. Many cases of abuse go unresolved because the senior’s complaints were quickly dismissed.  

When it comes to care for elderly loved ones, education is essential. Some people simply aren’t aware that their behavior toward elderly people is abusive. By providing information about what is and is not acceptable, you help to ensure that all older people receive respectful and kind treatment.