By Andrew C
A few reports from researchers claimed that elder abusers are often from a particular socio-economic group. That is, according to those studies, the abusers are likely to be people who have mental illness, a substance abuse, or are just dependent on parents for financial support.
I beg to differ, for the following reasons:
- We all agree that elder abuse is under-reported; therefore, many cases involving family members just are not available for studies.
- Just like other crimes, for instance, pedophile, the perpetrators are not just from one particular socio-economic group.
- Data samples in researches may not be as extensive as they should.
Just like our attitudes towards child abuse all those years ago, many just find it difficult to believe that even educated and/or wealthy people can still abuse children.
I am putting this forward for greater discussion because the case that I witnessed and have ample documentary evidence, involved two well educated persons. Believe it or not; one of them is a psychologist. Frankly, if I had not witnessed the case, I might not have believed it either.
The abuses and neglect span a period of over 8 years. Many close relatives of the victims just cannot believe what had gone on.
Some visitors to my blog have contacted me with their own story of elder abuse of a relative (more often a parent) who have been “controlled” and/or abused by another member of the family.
Many of us just do not want to get involved with cases that we thought involved family dynamics. “We do not want to get in the middle of sibling squabbles”, is one common response.
Family dynamics can be extremely complex. Even experts may have trouble sorting out family dynamics. However, family “secrets” and squabbles should not be an excuse for us to turn away from helping victims of elder abuse. The difficult is that victims in private homes are often reluctant to report abuses. They are fearful of losing the support and love of family members.
This is my greatest fear – that we ignore the abovementioned cases that are “hidden” in private homes.
Abusers in these “hidden” cases cannot rely on the excuse of generally accepted premise of “privacy in the home”.
Just consider for one moment, the serious consequences for elder abuse victims who have been abused by their adult children or partner. Who can they turn to? Who would be prepared to look into the family dynamics? Who would believe them? Who cares?
Until elder abuse is given the same serious treatment as child abuse, we cannot pretend that we are doing the best for victims of elder abuse; the Voiceless.
---------------------------------------------------
More Recent Posts from Spotlight on Elder Abuse
No comments:
Post a Comment