What is Elder Abuse?

What is elder abuse?

Physical: Slapping, hitting, bruising, beating, or any other intentional act that causes physical pain, suffering, or injury. This could also included excessive restraint like tying someone to a chair or locking them in a room.

Emotional Abuse: Threatening, intimidating, or humiliating a person and causing this emotional pain, distress, or anguish. This can be verbal or non-verbal and may include insults, yelling, threats of harm or isolation, or constantly demeaning behavior.

Sexual Abuse: Any non-consensual sexual activity against an older adult in which the senior either does not or cannot agree.

Financial exploitation: Misuse or mishandling of an elder's property, possessions, or finances. This includes using those assets without the senior's permission or manipulating the elder for financial benefit or material gain; pressuring, threatening, misrepresenting or other actions taken to gain control of financial assets, ownership of property, access to bank accounts, or possession of other assets of the elder.

Neglect: May be intentional or unintentional failure to provide physical, emotional, or social needs that are crucial to the senior's health and well-being. This is the most common form of elder mistreatment in domestic settings.

Isolation: Preventing access to mail, telephone calls, or visitors. Telling visitors, friends, or family that the elder does not want to see them or consistently cannot see them for any reason, contrary to the express or implied wishes of the elder. This can include physical restraint of a senior to prevent contact from others.

Abandonment: Deserting an elderly person; commonly called "granny-dumping."

Self-neglect: This may require some form of intervention when the elder becomes incapable of meeting his/her own needs for food, clothing, shelter, social, or other needs. This may be due to a physical or emotional illness, substance abuse (such as alcoholism), or self-imposed isolation. This form of elder abuse often requires intervention and assessment by qualified medical and psychological experts as well as an experienced California elder care attorney.