Abuse of the Elderly

Abuse of the Elderly...

Most people look at abuse in the form of bruises we can see. Black eyes, split lips, bruising on the arms and wrists, or various other places. But with the elderly it can be much more and hidden as most of these poor people die and no one knows of it. You can think that sexual and physical abuse to being the extreme but they can go through so much other abuse and no one knows. It is silent because they are. Predators know this and use it to their advantage.

A lot of mental abuse occurs with this whether implied or outright said. The most common abusive situation and whether someone means this or not to someone with dementia or Alzheimer's or other brain injury to even a physically handicapped person is that the caregiver says plain and simple "Do you want to be put in a care home, Or you had better stop what you are doing or you will go into the home, Or the Old Age Home is calling." This may be said jokingly or maliciously over behavior that that person is unable to control. The fear this brings to them is tremendous and horrible.  Then there is the greater form where it is done maliciously saying things like getting rid of granny or dropping them off downtown or into a ditch. To more physical forms of this and taking them for a drive like a case in the US and actually dropping them off in the woods.

Most abusive situations are in the form of people stealing. This can start with just a few simple things that disappear to going for an outing with them and telling them they will leave them if they do not pay. Who is to believe that an elderly person has not misplaced something or broken it and forgotten about it. How many times have you seen someone looking for a car in a parking lot and putting it off to Oldtimers disease. We joke about it. When in reality it is something that could happen to any of us. ANY of us. Lately there have been multiple cases where family members have suspected thefts or assaults and have put in hidden cameras and to their shock and disgust found that their loved one and or suspicions were right.

There are so many out there with no one and are alone and desperate as everything they had is taken including their dignity with assaults common. Common. What a horrible use of that word.

I will leave this here with this link to the government site here.

http://www.pssg.gov.bc.ca/victimservices/shareddocs/ElderAbuse.pdf

One more after this post.