Elderly Abuse in the UK - Literature review Example

ELDERLY ABUSE IN THE UK Introduction Elder abuse is defined as a single or repeated act or lack of appropriate action, happening within a relationship where there is trust, which causes harm and pain to an older person. The following are six types of elder abuse: physical (hitting, punching, giving the wrong medication or the wrong medication, etc.), psychological (shouting, blaming, humiliating, swearing, etc.), financial (the unauthorised use of a person’s money, property, eviction from their own home, and the forcing of the person to change the name of his/her heir in the last will and testament, etc), sexual, and neglect (the older person is deprived of the basic necessities such as food, shelter, clothing, and even the constitutional and civil rights of the old people when the court has not declared them to be mentally incapable) (health.mongabay.com, n.d.) The abuse of the elderly is one of the many social problems that the United Kingdom of Great Britain is facing. In a recent published report financed by the Comic Relief in cooperation with the government of Great Britain, the UK Study of Abuse and Neglect of Older People shows that hundreds and thousands of the elderly are being abused in their own homes. Unfortunately, the people who are involved in the abuse of the elderly are usually those that are closer to them, the relatives that care for them (Swaine, 2007). Just last year, 2.6% or 227,000 people were neglected or abused by family, close friends and care workers; 342,000 or 42% were neglected or abused in the last year by family, close friends and care workers, neighbours and acquaintances; mistreatment is in the following forms neglect (1.1%), financial abuse (0.7%), psychological and physical abuse (0.4%) and sexual abuse (0.2%) (Comic Relief, 2007). Reported cases of elderly abuse in the United Kingdom shows that 2/3 of the victims of abuse are elder women while only 1/3 are men. In many instances, the abuse of elderly women is more often than not a continuation of domestic violence against wives. This then leads to the higher proportion of spousal homicide. In the same manner, the risk of homicide against men is higher in their own homes (Swaine, 2007). More often than not, strangers are not the only perpetrators of this crime. As mentioned in the previous paragraphs, family members and those that victims trust usually abuse the elder people (Swaine, 2007). In most cases, the abuser is dependent upon the elderly. Such abuse often happens after retirement, when elder people become the burden of the abuser. Theories on the Abuse of the Elderly So many theories have been used to explain the occurrence of elderly abuse not just in UK but in many parts of the world (Hinsliff, 2004). A recent research suggests that physical abuse is highly dependent on the characteristics of the abuser rather than the abused. In line with this, the dependence on alcohol of the abuser is another factor to be considered in explaining elderly abuse (McCreadie & Tinker, 1993). Psychological abuses, on the other hand is not related to both abused and the abuser but to the poor relationship that both shared whilst financial abuse happen to those who are living alone and are weak to the exploitations of their relatives who usually take advantage of their isolation (McCreadie & Tinker, 1993). Neglect cases alternatively are often caused by their emotional problems which lead them to be more and more dependent to their caregivers or other family members. In the same manner, separation is also the most common factor that contributes to physical violence that endangers the lives of the elderly (Wilson, 1994). The abuse of the elderly varies usually depending on the gender of the victim. As mentioned, elder women are more prone to different kinds of abuses than the males (McCreadie & Tinker, 1993). Likewise, women are less likely to be abusers than men (Wilson, 1994). Elderly Abuse as a Social Problem Helptheaged.org presents the following facts: (1) 500,000 are believed to be abused at any one time in Great Britain, (2) 46 per cent of abuser are related to the victim whilst only one per cent of cases involves a family carer as the abuser, (3) 25 per cent of those who abuse are the sons and daughters of the victims, (4) 78 per cent of the abused are over the age of 70 while 16 per cent are over 90, (5) Those who are between the age 80-89 are the most vulnerable to the abuse, (6) two thirds of the abuse happens at home, by someone who is completely trusted by the victim, (7) 37 percent of the situations surveyed tell that two kinds of abuses happen at the same time and, (8) In one third of circumstances, the abuse is committed by more than one person in collusion (helptheaged.org, 2007). The abuse of the elderly according to a survey has become widespread (Revill, 2006). Once again, a research financed by Comic Relief suggests that hundreds and thousands of the population of the elderly are being abused (bbc.co.uk, 2007). At the same time, the results of the survey give a gloomy picture of how the British people treat the people nearest and dearest to them (McLaughlin, 2007). Those who are guilty of elderly abuse unfortunately do not meet the same punishment as those that are guilty of child abuse. Ivan Lewis, the care services minister is aware of this particular situation, admitting that the United Kingdom of Great Britain is far from solving the problem of elderly abuse because of the society’s inability to react to the issue in contrast to the outrageous reactions when it comes to child abuse (bbc.co.uk, 2007). Similarly, most victims of elder abuse are not that open in sharing their problems to the authorities as they are embarrassed to do so (bbc.co.uk, 2004). Once again, elderly abuse in the UK is not just confined to physical abuses but to other kinds such as sexual, financial, neglect, etc. Some reports in the BBC website state that the bodies of thousands of pensioners are only being discovered weeks, and even months after their death (bbc.co.uk, 1999). Each week, two bodies are being discovered in London which is sold by those who are in need of money. In other cities, on the other hand, 10 cases of bodies with no family or friends in each month are being discovered. This only shows the problem of neglect of the elderly in the whole country. In the same manner, a study funded by a charity that the Department of Health commissioned show that the abusers of the elderly are usually those who belong to their own family (Revill, 2006). 67% are said to be abused in their own homes, 12% in nursing homes, 10% in residential care, 5% in hospitals, 4% in sheltered housing and 2% in other locations (bbc.co.uk, 2004). Leigh Day & Co., one of the leading law firms in the United Kingdom have attended to numerous elderly abuse problems. On one case, the law firm acted on behalf of 81 year old woman who is suffering from a severe case of Alzheimer’s disease who was physically attacked and raped by one of the members of the staff of her care home. The law firm was successful to call for a judicial review of the refusal of the care home to remove her from their care (Swaine, 2007). Physical Abuse According to McCreadie & Tinker (1993), physical abuse is defined as the deliberate infliction of physical that often results in injuries and other impairments. Another UK based charity conducted a survey on the abuse of the elderly. Although there are more people who experience abuse in their retirement homes, majority still happens at home. Based on the figures, only 34% are abused in the hands of their care givers while 46% experience it from their own homes (Charity details UK elder abuse: bbc.co.uk, 2004). The ill treatment of the elderly usually involves deprivation of the body’s necessary needs such as food, clothing, etc., hitting, burning, exposing the victims to discomforts using physical force that often leads to the need of the victims for immediate hospitalization (Cheesman, 2001). Although quite unbelievable, most people turn to violence when the stress gets the best of them. More often than not, physical abuse happens in homes where violence has been part of their daily lives (Cheesman, 2001), or limited coping mechanisms. However, the elderly people refuse to report cases of physical violence against them in their efforts to save the relationship (Cheesman, 2001). A terrifying story has been cited in Chris Mahony’s article, the story of Carolyn McKenna’s aunt. At the Merseyside funeral parlour, the younger lady could still see the evidence of elder abuse against her beloved aunt. The sight of her bruised face and damaged septum saddened Carolyn (Mahony, 2007) According to the story, the old woman suffered seven accidents before her death, but none of them was investigated and explained by the care home that housed the victim. The grave story tells only confirms that elderly abuse goes beyond the confines of their homes, they do experience all these in care homes, in the hands of those that are obligated by profession to take care of their patients (Ward, 2007). Elderly Abuse in Care Homes A study conducted by a joint committee on human rights says that many of the patients of elderly care homes are deal with maltreatment that range from physical neglect where their caregivers usually leave them lying in their own body wastes. In addition to this, the failure of carers to help their patients in eating causes the malnutrition and dehydration of the elders in the different care homes and hospitals in the whole country (Ward, 2007). In the same way, caregivers fail to give their patients the right medication which may sometimes lead to over dosage. In other hospitals, the discharge of patients is over-hasty which then leads to more suffering of the patients, the elderly. The abuse of the elderly in care home also goes beyond physical abuse. Usually, the mistreatment of the elderly in the care homes includes psychological and sexual abuses (Brammer, n.d.). Yvonne Roberts (2007), in her article Years of Abuse gives the people a clear picture of the situation inside the different care homes in the UK. The patients are usually dressed in dirty, filthy clothes, fed like animals and paid little attention. Bed sores are usually ignored, shouting, slapping and other kinds of abuse are also rampant in this institutions that should have been dedicated to caring and attending to the elderly. Likewise, David Rose (2007), in his article, Elderly Suffering Abuse and Neglect in Residential Care Homes cites a case of a woman who experienced maltreatment in a care home in Great Britain. This woman, who is unnamed in the article, is said to experience a difficulty in feeding herself looked as if she was slowly facing her death as visitors who could have aided her were prevented from staying with her during meal times. It has also been said, that more than one fifth of care homes have been discovered to fail the basic standards of privacy and dignity (Rose, 2007). They lack privacy while dressing, washing and using the toilet and most of these care homes have mixed-sex wards even though the government has already called for the resolution of this problem (Batty, 2007). In addition to this, the elderly even experience sexual abuse from their caregivers, inside the care homes and even outside. Three percent of these abuses are said to be experienced inside the different care homes all over the country (bbc.co.uk, 2006). A report, cited in David Rose’s article tells the story of an eighty year old woman who was suffered from a sexual assault of a fellow resident in 2004. The staff and administration of the care home recorded the particular incident but was not given attention to; it was only after a year when the victim’s daughter reported the event to the authorities (2007). The abuse of the elderly, as mentioned goes beyond the four walls of the care homes, but experience abuses outside their homes at the hands of their caregivers as well. The Joan Story is maybe one of the most popular stories. A volunteer is said to take Joan to the local day care centre every week. The old woman trusted him and considered him as one of her friends. In a span of one year however, the volunteer changed. His actions toward the old woman became a bit nasty and were verbally abusing the patient. He kept telling the patient that nobody but him would look after her and take care of her. The abuse went as far as the volunteer demanding the old woman to give him the power of attorney. Not knowing what it means, Joan accidentally put him down as next of kin, leaving him in charge of her money. However, the volunteer’s cruelty did not stop here. He took Joan’s pension, and even going as far as sexually abusing his patient. Having the key to her front door, the volunteer would always let himself inside the old woman’s house whenever he had the chance. He would usually do this whenever the owner of the house is outside. As soon as she gets home, the man would jump on her, and as time passes by, demands Joan to do something for her. The first ever sexual assault started with the volunteer putting his hand on her breasts, his hand up in her skirt and started kissing her. Joan could not do anything to stop him and this particular event went on for a number of years. It was only when she had the courage to tell a friend that the sexual abuse of this particular volunteer stopped (Andrew, 2007). Sexual Abuse of the Elderly The children, the youth and middle aged people, as this paper clearly shows are not the only age brackets that fall prey upon the horrors of sexual abuse. The elderly people suffer from this too. In the Joan story mentioned above, it is quite evident how some people take advantage of the weakness of the elderly (Stevenson, 2003). According to statistics presented by Charity Action of Elder Abuse, 10,000 to 15,000 have been sexually abused. According to the charity’s director, Ginny Jenkins, the problem in solving the sexual abuse of the elderly is that the victims are not that open about talking about the particular issue. In addition to this, people are not that aware of the fact that someone could rape and indecently assault an elderly that they rather not talk about this (UK Call for Action on Sexual Abuse of The Elderly- bbc.co.uk, 1999). The story of 84-year-old Katherine Barnes is another grave story that should be taken into consideration (Hill, 2001). Her family assumed that Katherine Barnes was just going through an inevitable stage of Alzheimer’s when the old woman stopped talking. Soon, she displayed signs of fear every time her formerly beloved son-in-law would enter the room of her nursing room. Her family was saddened as they thought that this was just an effect of the Alzheimer’s disease she has. It was only when John Tiplady was arrested, the owner of a nursing home in North Yorkshire for sexual attacks on the residents of his care home that the family was able to look into the strange behaviour of their matriarch. Unfortunately, however, Katherine Barnes has passed away at that time. This just goes to show how rampant sexual abuse of the elderly is in the care homes in the whole country. The sexual abuse of the elderly in the United Kingdom is perhaps the greatest taboo that the country is facing. Often times, the sexual abuse of the elderly is not just about sex but about the power one has over a weak, fragile elderly victim (Hill, 2001). Most of the victims of these sexual abusers are those with Alzheimer’s or diseases of the like, making it hard to establish whether or now the injured party has consented to the sexual relations (Stevenson, 2003). Financial Abuse Financial abuse is another kind of crime being committed by perpetrators against the elderly. The ageing population would of course mean the transfer of the elderly to one of the estimated 23,000 available care homes all over the country. One of the implications of these trends is the transfer of funds, money and other properties to the hands of the people they love and trust (Means & Langan, 1996). There are many kinds of financial abuse and these are the following: taking money or property, forging the signature of an older person, getting the victim to sign a deed, will or power of attorney through deception, coercion or undue influence (Ncpea, 2003). It also includes the use of the older person’s property and possessions without permission, the promising of caring for him/her in exchange for money and property that usually abusers fail to fulfil. Most of the time, confidence crimes are being committed in order to win the confidence and trust of the elderly which involve scams, fraud and even telemarketing scams that are used as scare tactics and exaggerated claims to force the victims to send money and charge their credit cards without authorization (Nerenberg, 1999). The perpetrators if these crimes are usually family members, sons, daughters, spouse, or grandchildren who have financial problems, heirs who feel that taking the different possessions and wealth are rightfully theirs. Occasionally, perpetrators fear that an older family member might end up getting sick and use up their savings that would lead to the disinheritance of the abuser. In the same way, there are some perpetrators who have a failed relationship with the elderly member of the family that he/she feels entitled to his/her property as payment for the strained relationship they have had. But the most prevalent of course, is the negative emotions one has toward another family member who the abuser sees as his/her competitor in acquiring the inheritance (Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect, 2000). The people at risk are those that are being maltreated due to isolation, loneliness, recent losses, physical and mental abilities, lack of familiarity with financial matters, have family members who are unemployed, thus experiencing financial problems (Hurme, 2006). It seems that the elderly are attractive targets of the financial abusers because most of the people who are aged 50 and above possess more than seventy percent of the nation’s wealth. In the same way, many of the older people do not know the value of their property. Unfortunately, most of the elderly have a hard time in managing their own properties and possessions that they tend to ask the younger members of their family for help (Newton, 2005). Likewise, there are predictable patterns that are not so hard to figure out- abusers find it easy to discover when their elders would receive money that they would offer to go to the bank for them. Technological advances have of course failed to be of great help to the older members of the population that they tend to rely on the unsophisticated ways of dealing with financial matters. The Frank Punito story is one of the most popular stories ever told, a classic example of financial abuse. Frank’s wife has been diagnosed with a serious mental illness 5 years into their marriage. The old man suffered from a very long property settlement feud that almost destroyed his relationship with his family. He had to find an alternative housing settlement for his estranged wife who chose not to live with him and all the lines of communication were to pass through his children. The children took advantage of the situation, taking over their father’s properties and refusing to settle the family problem (Inthenameofthemother.com, 2007). Psychological Abuse Ms. Debra Philips, a 36 year old nurse from Wallasey was guilty of psychologically abusing her patient in Merseyside. She cut out two eyeholes and drew a smile on a paper bag and a co-employee placed it over the head of an elderly man at the Arrowe Park Hospital. She took a picture of her patient using her mobile phone and sent it to her boyfriend. After further investigation, the guilty party was dismissed from her position as she was guilty of psychological abuse (Murtagh, 2007). Psychological abuse goes beyond shouting, swearing, frightening, blaming and isolating the elderly, it also involve humiliation (British Geriatrics Society). Psychological abuses often happen inside care homes when patients get in the nerve of caregivers causing them to be stressed out. The Problems that Haunt Care Homes One of the problems that are constantly being cited is the inability of nurses to recognize when a certain patient has been abused. In most cases, they are even hesitant to report cases of abuses that their patients encounter. In answer to this, the Nursing and Midwifery council or NMC, the regulator of all the nurses and midwives in the UK, reminded the progessionals of their code of professional conduct, to protect the interests of their patients (NMC, 2007). The different abuses that haunt care homes are also blamed upon the low wages that caregivers receive. The British Government: Are their Policies in Protecting the Elderly Enough? Years ago, child abuse has been one of the many problems that the UK used to face and it took them awhile to solve this problem. From the different problems presented in the previous paragraphs, it is pretty obvious that the government is somehow turning a blind eye to the different problems of the older people in the British population. In recent times, older people are now more than the children in Great Britain. The need to give solutions to the problems of elderly abuse in the UK lies on the policy making of the British government. According to statistics, one in every five babies that are born today will live to be 100; thus, a growth in the number of centenarians in the next 50 years is seen to increase. It is for this reason that the clamour to change the present policies of the government towards elderly abuse has increased (Hutton, 2007). Even the former prime minister, Tony Blair has been repeatedly asked to attend to the needs of the older members of the population. In a Labour Party Conference in 1997, the former prime minister said that he did not want his children to grow old in a country where pensioners have to sell their homes to pay for their health care. It is for this reason that many private organizations in the UK are calling on for a government’s action to lessen the costs of health care for the pensioners (Cheshire.co.uk, 2007). A total of 9 million pounds a day is needed to support the ageing population. This would also be needed, based on research to support the new programs being developed by the government to answer the needs of the old members of the population by 2011 (LGA Media Office, 2007). As a response to the early reports, the director general of Age Concern Gordon Lishman suggested the extension of the Human Rights Act 1998 to private care homes to increase the protection of older people. In recent times, the act covers only those that are publicly owned, making it easy for the owners of private care homes to easily abuse their patients (Brody, 2007). However, the prevalence of abuses towards the elderly in the UK is blamed upon the lack of policies and punishments that could help discipline the perpetrators of this crime. As mentioned, those that are guilty of elderly abuse do not face the same punishments as those who are guilty of child abuse. A report once said that children are more protected by the law because they are the future of the country, while the elderly are often neglected because of their fragility and weakness. However, the country fails to realize the need to answer this problem, as the rampant elderly abuse in the UK gives a clear picture of how weak the family institution is (McLaughlin, 2007). The Role of the Private Institutions The lack of government policies and programs has led to private actions to take action. These are Help the Aged, GenerationXperience, and so much more. October 1, 2007 marked the first UK Older People’s Day, launched as a nationwide program to celebrate the opportunities, achievements and aspirations of the older people and their contributions to the society. The said program aims to show that the elderly people in the UK are still being valued in their society although most of them have been exposed to elderly abuse. Conclusion The abuse of the elderly is a unknown and often ignored problem of the society of the United Kingdom. In the past few years, child abuse has increased but the government has already provided solutions in order to address the problem. The abuse of the elderly people, on the other hand remains to be a problem yet to be solved. Half a million older people are being abused and yet, many are still unaware of it, as people, especially the elderly are not open to talk about the issue in hopes to save a strained relationship, or out of fear and embarrassment (House of Commons Elderly Committee, 2003-04). There are many forms of abuses- financial, neglect, physical, psychological, etc and these different abuses occur within and outside the home. Unfortunately, most perpetrators or abusers are those that are close to the victims and have the confidence and trust of the elderly. However, strangers and caregivers, those that have been bound to take care of their patients by their profession have also been found to abuse the elderly (House of Commons Elderly Committee, 2003-04). The government is being called to adjust their policies in order to answer the problems brought about by elderly abuse in order to include punishments in the laws so that perpetrator would be more hesitant in committing these heinous crimes to the elderly (House of Commons Elderly Committee, 2003-04). References 2000. Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect. Volume 12 Number 2. Available at: http://www.preventelderabuse.org/about/jean/jean00.html#12two (Accessed October 18, 2007) Andrew. 2007. ‘Elder Abuse- Another Story’ Spotlight on Elder Abuse. Available at: http://elder-abuse-spotlight.blogspot.com (Accessed October 17, 2007). Batty, D. 2007. Neglect of Older Patients: A Systematic or Social Problem? 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