Confronting Elderly Abuse

In June 2016, the Adult Protective Service reported a case of elderly abuse to the Lafayette police after a family called them to report that their mother was a victim of abuse. Julie Steenhoek, a 53 years old, was accused of financial abuse to a woman with health problems. The victim was Lavinia Reno, a 79-year-old woman. The police found that Julie was living in the house of the victim after she has gained the victim’s trust. Once Julie and her family moved into the house, the family members of the victim noticed that Julie did not allow the victim to communicate with her family or neighbors. The police also discovered that Julie was in the victim’s will and she was trying to sell old woman’s house. The investigators

At Adult Protective Services majority of our work involves investigation of abuse, neglect, and exploitation. At Adult Protective Services our job is to protect the vulnerable elderly population, as well as the population that have disabilities. “Only APS is statutorily authorized and responsible for investigating elder and vulnerable adult abuse and taking steps to protect the victims, and it is generally only APS that helps the most frail and incapacitated older persons”(Quin, 2012, p.68). When abuse is suspected, a case worker will reach out to all parties involved, such as the alleged victim, alleged perpetrator, and all collaterals. Unlike many other professions, case worker are not required to have any written consent to speak with

All individuals have the entitlement to living their lives exempt from aggression or any type of abuse. Circumstances of abuse at senior individuals frequently appear publicly although several occurrences of abuse could likewise go unannounced. Safeguarding older people is ever more recognized as a serious matter for society, with ongoing exposure of abusive and unjust systems and practices that defy social care practices and those who labor with adult deemed as at risk (previously referred to as vulnerable) (Scragg & Mantell, 2011). The above change resulted, as the terminology 'vulnerable adult ' was perceived as negatively meaning that the abused adult is partially responsible of the abuse occurring to him/her (Mandelstam, 2011).

Domestic violence can impact anyone regardless of age, race, sexual orientation, religion, or gender. Domestic abuse not only affects the individuals involved, but children who are there to witness an abuse. For example, studies have shown that children who witnesses their parents in an abusive situation will go on and repeat the cycle. In addition, children who witnesses a mother getting abused may feel like it is their fault for not being able to protect their mother. Ultimately, children themselves may become victims of abuse. It is estimated that children abuse is 6-15 times higher in domestic violence cases where the mother is abused (Domestic Violence: Long Term Effects of Domestic Violence, 2015).

The video we watched, Elder Abuse: Five Case Studies, was an intense documentary detailing the lives of five elderly individuals who had experienced, or are currently experiencing, abuse from a loved one. I found Dorothy 's story to be more meaningful because I feel as though this type of situation happens often in our society. Dorothy 's adult son, Gary, was living with her. Gary was an unemployed alcoholic who abuses his mother because he felt he never got what he deserved from her, as far as their financial arrangement went. Throughout the video Gary came across as being very manipulative, reproachful and angry towards his mother. I think many elderly parents in today 's society are taking care of their children who are struggling with addiction. The elderly population, in general, feels as though they are at fault for having a child who is addicted to alcohol and/or drugs because there wasn 't a lot of information regarding families of alcoholics and/or other drugs in the years that they were raising their children. It seems as though many elderly parents take the responsibility for their children being addicts instead of seeking help for them. Unfortunately, within our society the story presented regarding Dorothy and her son, Gary, is all too common. According to familiar these days, which is why I found it to be meaningful because there needs to be more information and awareness available to the public regarding this

Many people are supported in their homes by people who work along side the health and social care service such as social workers,nursers ,doctor and care givers or they may get support from their family members and friends. An elderly person may choose to stay in their own homes instead of a residential care home while seeking help and support from others,however this can lead to potential opportunities for abuse happening to the person who Is being looked after. When an individual is getting support at home by a carer, the individual being cared for is vulnerable and defenseless and therefor this makes them a target for abuse,another example is abuse by strangers,when an elderly person lives alone they are at risk of people calling at the door and then gaining access to their homes,they may steal items from them or mistreat them or cause intimidation.

As I watched the documentary “Road Beyond Abuse,” I experienced a whirlwind of emotions. From disgusted and disappointed to impressed and joyful, I felt it all. It truly disturbed me to hear about the experiences both Michael McCain and Johnnetta McSwain endured. I was disgusted that no one protected these innocent children from being verbally abused, beaten, raped, and left to fend for themselves. It was shocking to hear that these children withstood this amount of abuse from their family members until they were teenagers. Unfortunately, I was not surprised that Johnnetta and her sister Sonya fell into prostitution as well as substance abuse because living on the streets was to be expected due to their upbringing. In Michael’s case, it was heart wrenching to see him falsely confess to abusing his sister solely because he was overwhelmed by the fear of his father. Although he had been separated from his parents for some time, it was upsetting to imagine the kind of differing emotions, both angry and devastated, Michael experienced after finding out of his father’s murder and suicide. Although the stories of their childhood gave me similar feelings to what I have when I hear of any abuse, it was a breath of fresh air to hear of the successes of two victims. I was taken aback

The major drawback of the Criminal Code is the fact that it does not address elder abuse specifically. Instead, this code operates in areas such as “child abuse, sexual assault and spousal violence” (Donovan & Regehr, 2010, p.177). However, elder abuse must be included in other Criminal Code provisions. For example, financial abuse cases can be considered through provisions related to robbery, falsification or fraud (Donovan & Regehr, 2010). Physical abuse episodes are addressed under the provisions of homicide, assassination and other physical assault. Elder sexual abuse situations are considered under points such as sexual attack, sexual attack with a weapon, intimidations

All things considered, the elderly adults can neither voice their opinions, some individuals think that they are not giving anything to society, therefore they don’t see them as important to look after them.

Clearly identify the perpetrator and describe the circumstances leading to the abuse of the elder (risk factors)

The sixty-five and over population has grown to be the fastest growing group.  Because there will be advances in nutrition and medicine, centenarians will be at one million by the center of the twenty-first century.  Non-whites are to be expected to be one-third of the population by 2050. As of now, minorities are misrepresented because most of them do not have health insurance or care.  Majority of them are poor and work very dangerous jobs.  If you are past sixty-five years of age then you are considered elderly.  It is not normal for anyone to make it past age sixty-two.  Most of the elderly who retired lost more than half of what their retirement would have been.  Many of them had to go back and work again and change their plans.  Minorities had

The testimony from the Commanding Officer of Canada’s Air force, Angus Watt clearly states that Williams “was unusually calm, very logical, very rational” (McKeown, 2010) which add to the overall creepy sensation of the film, but also suggests that there could be something psychologically wrong. This comment also helps to illustrate how powerful of a figure Russell Williams is. To contrast with this, the media additionally uses the “ideal victim” in popular stories to draw the most attention. The ideal victim is a person that easily gets the “complete and legitimate status of being a victim” after being subject to an act of crime (Davies, Francis & Greer, 2008). These people are usually young children and elderly women, which is what this film focuses on to ensure that we really sympathize with the victims. In the film, families disclose how their young daughter’s undergarments were stolen; as well as how older women, while not yet elderly, were beaten and sexually abused. This helps the viewers to identify with the vulnerable and defenseless, and direct our compassion towards them (Davies, Francis & Greer, 2008), and direct our anger at

Each year in America alone, an estimate of two million children, ranging from infants to teenagers go through minor or major kinds of abuse which include neglect, physical, emotional, and sexual maltreatment. According to the National American Committee to Prevent Child Abuse, neglect represented 54% of confirmed cases of child abuse, physical abuse represented 22%, sexual abuse represented 8%, emotional maltreatment represented 4%, and other forms of maltreatment represented12%. It also indicates that child abuse is far more common in single-parent families than in families where both parents are

Assisted living facilities are one of the fastest growing industries in the United States. Unfortunately, assisted living facilities have a history of being problematic. Specific cases from the movie Life and Death in Assisted Living Facilities indicates that assisted living facilities are often under staffed, poorly trained, and often admit elderly patients who are not qualified candidates for their facilities (Byker and Thompson, 2013). When taking this in to account, it is important to consider why families may admit their loved ones in to assisted living facilities. Hillier and Barrow (2015), associate problems of caregiving with the responsibility itself, the caregivers personal health, role strains, strained family relationships, ect. With all of this strain on an informal caregiver it seems most beneficial to the caregiver and the elderly individual to consider admittance in to an assisted living facility. Once a basis has been established as to why an elderly person is admitted in to an assisted living facility, further insight shall be established to denote what is considered elder abuse. In this movie, Life and Death in Assisted Living Facilities, several

In the UK, over five hundred thousand abuse against elderly people occurred each year. These abuses can occur anywhere, including in someone own home, residential home or hospital.