This publication states that the Justice Department's researchers, experts, and statisticians have determined that elder abuse is a serious issue that warrants attention. Results indicate that in 2009, 11 percent of older people responding to a phone survey reported experiencing at least one form of mistreatment which includes emotional, physical, or sexual abuse. (The study did not include any individuals in residential care or with severe cognitive incapacity.) Financial exploitation by a family member was reported by 5.2 percent of older people in the past year. Approximately 4.6 percent of adults over age 60 reported experiencing some form of emotional mistreatment in the past year, and only 8 percent of these individuals reported the event to the police. It is estimated that for every one case of elder abuse, neglect, exploitation, or self-neglect reported to authorities, about five more go unreported. Further discussed is the role of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) in leading the cooperation of grantees and partners, such as NIJ's Elder Mistreatment Research Program; the NIJ Journal; the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC); and the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) in providing research and solutions for identification and prevention of elder mistreatment and to help close the gap in the current research and scholarship on elder abuse and mistreatment.
Elder Abuse and Mistreatment
NCJ Number
237044
Date Published
November 2011
Length
1 page
Annotation
This fact sheet examines elder mistreatment.
Abstract