Elder abuse

Elder abuse is an umbrella term used to capture a myriad of victimisation processes that focus on the mistreatment of older people. This mistreatment may variously involve what is known as a structural artefact (violation of human rights, discrimination), intentional acts of commission (physical assault, fraud) or unintentional acts of omission (neglect, social exclusion). Elder abuse occurs to both men and women, and occurs across all classes and income levels and in all educational, religious and ethnic backgrounds. Conventionally, elder abuse is managed by governments as a health or welfare problem, or treated by them as would be comparable crimes committed against victims under the age of 65. The first approach has the same problems as traditional responses to family violence: elder abuse is often hidden, and rarely considered as a criminal justice issue. The second approach pays little attention to unique victimisation processes, or unique offender behaviours and motivations.