What are some of the major types of abuses on the elderly
...publicly murdered his 78 years old wife even though she had a restraining order against him (CNN, 31 Dec 2000). This is one of the many cases of physical abuse that caught many people’s attention and is making more people aware of the situation in homes where elders are physically abused. Another main form of elderly abuse is emotional abuse (psychological or verbal). Emotional elder abuse is a verbal or nonverbal act that inflicts emotional pain, anguish, or distress on the elder. It is also sometimes known as verbal abuse, mental abuse, or psychological abuse. Emotional elderly abuse is almost always accompanied by another form of abuse, such as physical abuse. Emotional abuse of the elderly can range from a simple verbal insult to an extreme form of verbal punishment. Some examples of emotional abuse include ignoring the elder, isolating an elderly person from family, friends, or regular activities, constant blaming and accusation, harassment, cursing, humiliating, insulting and yelling or screaming. Emotional abuse may not be harmful to the body but in the long run, the elders, being frailer and less emotionally stable, may not be able to take the constant bombardment of verbal abuse and may resort to suicide. This is evident in that the suicide rate of people over 60 years is ever increasing. In America, over 65 year olds account for about 20 percent of the approximately 30,000 suicides in the U.S. each year. Mostly are elderly men. And almost all of them committed suicide because they were suffering from abuses from their family. (CNN, July 31, 2000). The third and most rampant form of abuse is elderly neglect and abandonment. Neglect of the elderly can be either physical or emotional. Neglect consists of confinement, isolation, or denial of essential services. In physical neglect, their children ether fail or do not provide for their basic physical needs. This can be in the form of inappropriate housing and clothing, inadequate food or water, lack of assistance, physical restraint and most cruelly denial of medical care. In emotional neglect, it is mainly the lack of emotional support, respect and love. The worst form of neglect will be total abandonment of the elders. In third world countries where the elders are considered to be a burden to the young, many were abandoned on the streets when they become too reliant. 20 years ago, such scenes can be seen in Singapore but as the people become richer, many of them dump their elders into old folk’s homes instead. Financial abuse or exploitation of an elderly is when the family members illegally or without proper consent from the elder, use their assets, funds or property. As most elderly people are impaired and weak, they become easy targets. As the economic situation in many countries worsens due to economic crisis and ...