Elder Abuse and Exploitation: Defining the Problem
When someone takes advantage of an older person, it is broadly categorized as elder abuse or elder exploitation. These terms encompass a range of harmful actions targeting vulnerable seniors. Recognizing the different types of exploitation is the first step towards addressing this significant issue.
Types of Elder Exploitation
Elder exploitation is not a single act but a spectrum of harmful behaviors. Understanding these different forms is key to identifying and preventing them.
Financial Exploitation
This is a prevalent form of elder exploitation and involves the illegal or improper use of an older adult's money, property, or assets. Perpetrators can be strangers, but often they are individuals known to the senior, such as family members, caregivers, or even financial advisors.
Common tactics include:
- Scams: Various fraudulent schemes, often conducted by phone or online, targeting seniors' savings.
- Misuse of Power of Attorney: An individual with legal authority over a senior's finances abuses that power for personal gain.
- Coercion: Pressuring a senior through manipulation or threats to give up assets or change their will.
Emotional or Psychological Abuse
This type of abuse inflicts mental pain, anguish, or distress. It can involve verbal assaults, intimidation, threats, and isolation. Emotional abuse can be particularly damaging as it erodes a senior's self-worth and ability to seek help.
Examples include:
- Verbal Abuse: Yelling, name-calling, or constant criticism.
- Isolation: Preventing the senior from interacting with friends or family.
- Intimidation: Using fear to control the senior's actions or decisions.
Other Forms of Abuse
While financial and emotional exploitation are common when people take advantage of old people, other forms of elder abuse include:
- Physical Abuse: Inflicting physical pain or injury.
- Neglect: Failing to provide necessary care, such as food, shelter, medical attention, or hygiene.
- Sexual Abuse: Non-consensual sexual contact.
- Abandonment: Deserting a senior who is dependent on care.
Who Are the Perpetrators?
It is a difficult truth that many perpetrators of elder exploitation are people the senior knows and trusts. This makes detection and intervention more complex.
Potential perpetrators include:
- Family Members: Adult children, grandchildren, or other relatives.
- Caregivers: Both paid professional caregivers and unpaid family caregivers.
- Friends and Neighbors: Individuals who have gained the senior's trust.
- Scammers: Criminals who specifically target older adults through various schemes.
Recognizing the Signs
Being able to recognize the warning signs of elder exploitation is crucial. These signs can be subtle or obvious and may manifest in various ways.
| Type of Exploitation | Potential Signs in the Senior | Potential Signs in the Environment/Perpetrator |
|---|---|---|
| Financial Exploitation | Unexplained inability to pay bills, sudden changes in banking, missing valuables, unusual gifts to a caregiver/family member, confusion about finances. | Frequent ATM withdrawals from the senior's account, a caregiver or family member with unusual control over the senior's finances, isolation from other family members, sudden appearance of new friends. |
| Emotional Abuse | Withdrawal, depression, anxiety, fearfulness, agitation, unusual mood swings, low self-esteem, reluctance to speak in front of a certain person. | Constant criticism or threats directed at the senior, controlling behavior, preventing the senior from seeing others, dismissing the senior's feelings. |
| Neglect | Poor hygiene, untreated medical conditions, weight loss, unsafe living conditions, lack of necessary medications. | Caregiver expressing indifference towards the senior's needs, lack of necessary supplies, isolation. |
Preventing Elder Exploitation
Prevention is a multi-faceted approach involving vigilance, communication, and establishing safeguards.
Key Prevention Strategies
- Stay Connected: Encourage seniors to remain socially active and connected with friends and family. Isolation increases vulnerability.
- Open Communication: Talk openly with older adults about their finances and any concerns they might have.
- Legal Planning: Encourage the establishment of a trusted power of attorney or guardian, but ensure they are carefully chosen and monitored.
- Monitor Finances: With the senior's permission, periodically review bank statements and credit reports for unusual activity.
- Vet Caregivers: If hiring professional help, use reputable agencies and conduct thorough background checks.
- Awareness of Scams: Educate seniors about common scams targeting older adults.
Taking Action: Reporting and Seeking Help
If you suspect that an older person is being taken advantage of, it is essential to act. Reporting suspected abuse can save a senior from further harm.
Steps to Take
- Contact Adult Protective Services (APS): This is the primary agency for investigating elder abuse. The contact information varies by state and locality.
- Call Law Enforcement: If there is immediate danger or criminal activity is suspected, contact the police.
- Seek Legal Counsel: An elder law attorney can provide guidance on legal protections and recourse.
- Connect with Support Organizations: Groups dedicated to elder abuse prevention and victim support can offer valuable resources and assistance.
For more detailed information on identifying and reporting elder abuse, the National Center on Elder Abuse is an excellent resource.
Conclusion
Understanding what is it called when people take advantage of old people — elder abuse and exploitation — is a critical step in protecting our senior population. By recognizing the signs, implementing preventive measures, and knowing how to report suspected abuse, we can work together to ensure older adults live their lives free from harm and with the respect and dignity they deserve. Protecting seniors is a community responsibility.
