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With age comes the downward spiral of physicality, mobility, and other physiological functions. The seniors are also held down by their feelings of dependence, fear of retaliation, hope for change, and other similar sentiments. Anyone with an ounce of morality and ethics in them would be all afire to stop this trend from continuing to up in statistics. Therefore, everyone should join in the efforts to raise awareness and put a stop on elder abuse.
You can probably imagine why this is a thing. Elders have come to be physiologically and sometimes mentally and psychologically weaker than other people. Their overt reliance and dependence have placed them at the mercy of persons who think that they can do whatever they want without the fear of consequences. If one has an ounce of ethics and virtue, then it does not take some deep thinking to know that this is unethical and heavily culpable. However, this does not seem to influence the trends going the whole world over.
It was the WHO that brought worldwide attention to this actuality. With the specification of senior maltreatment as a societal problem, more organizations, agencies, and partners have stepped up to the challenge. There is now an organization called the INPEA, which is a network of orgs that seek to raise awareness and proffer ways to change the ongoing trend. There is a World Awareness Day designated for this social problem, slated on June 15.
However, we can be safe with a few generalizations. The most common example of abuse is probably physical. Say, in slapping, punching, kicking, and hitting an elder. Forced confinement or imprisonment is also subsumed in this category, as well as giving deliberate overdoses on drugs and medication. Whatever the case or intent, all these are instances of maltreatment and should be duly reported.
Although the themes in this event are pretty much common, the specific actualities are as different as can be. There are actually some people who are not aware that what they are doing is a constituent of abuse. You know how they say that the ignorance of the law does not exempt anyone, and that should really be subscribed to. One will have to rely on his or her own moral compass to determine whether a particular action is right or wrong. However, a bit of knowledge should never come amiss.
The boundaries of this phenomenon are quite wide and expansive, even more so than child abuse. After all, the last can be done by just about any person, even though they are not consanguine relatives or caretakers of the child. However, what often characterizes elder maltreatment is that it involves a caretaker or a person in a position of power over the victim. You can appreciate the rife technicalities here, which contributes to the fact of it being hard to root out and solve.
That is why the prevalence of senior maltreatment can boil down on culture, history, and societal perceptions. It may also be down on the economic state of a particular place. After all, theres no going around the fact that these noble elders, when one comes down to it, are liabilities. However, in countries where the economy is at an all time high, and where retirement funds and health insurance are easily available, then things are a lot less hard for the family at large.
Aside from the many acts and actions that may be considered a part of it, one must also keep in mind the things that are not considered such. For example, general criminal activity, like muggings, burglary, and some such are not considered representative of it. It displays power play, of course, but it can also happen to just about anyone. Therefore, whatever the outcome, the charges are different, and they are not often headed with elderly abuse.
The challenges in this enterprise are uncountable. There are great, many barriers in obtaining the needed statistics. The worse kinds are the abuses that are hidden and committed in privacy. It could also be that the victim himself or herself is unwilling to report and testify. In cases of cognitive decline, like dementia, authorities may be inclined not to take them seriously. The challenges, then again, are great and numerous. However, with societal force, they can be overcome.
You can probably imagine why this is a thing. Elders have come to be physiologically and sometimes mentally and psychologically weaker than other people. Their overt reliance and dependence have placed them at the mercy of persons who think that they can do whatever they want without the fear of consequences. If one has an ounce of ethics and virtue, then it does not take some deep thinking to know that this is unethical and heavily culpable. However, this does not seem to influence the trends going the whole world over.
It was the WHO that brought worldwide attention to this actuality. With the specification of senior maltreatment as a societal problem, more organizations, agencies, and partners have stepped up to the challenge. There is now an organization called the INPEA, which is a network of orgs that seek to raise awareness and proffer ways to change the ongoing trend. There is a World Awareness Day designated for this social problem, slated on June 15.
However, we can be safe with a few generalizations. The most common example of abuse is probably physical. Say, in slapping, punching, kicking, and hitting an elder. Forced confinement or imprisonment is also subsumed in this category, as well as giving deliberate overdoses on drugs and medication. Whatever the case or intent, all these are instances of maltreatment and should be duly reported.
Although the themes in this event are pretty much common, the specific actualities are as different as can be. There are actually some people who are not aware that what they are doing is a constituent of abuse. You know how they say that the ignorance of the law does not exempt anyone, and that should really be subscribed to. One will have to rely on his or her own moral compass to determine whether a particular action is right or wrong. However, a bit of knowledge should never come amiss.
The boundaries of this phenomenon are quite wide and expansive, even more so than child abuse. After all, the last can be done by just about any person, even though they are not consanguine relatives or caretakers of the child. However, what often characterizes elder maltreatment is that it involves a caretaker or a person in a position of power over the victim. You can appreciate the rife technicalities here, which contributes to the fact of it being hard to root out and solve.
That is why the prevalence of senior maltreatment can boil down on culture, history, and societal perceptions. It may also be down on the economic state of a particular place. After all, theres no going around the fact that these noble elders, when one comes down to it, are liabilities. However, in countries where the economy is at an all time high, and where retirement funds and health insurance are easily available, then things are a lot less hard for the family at large.
Aside from the many acts and actions that may be considered a part of it, one must also keep in mind the things that are not considered such. For example, general criminal activity, like muggings, burglary, and some such are not considered representative of it. It displays power play, of course, but it can also happen to just about anyone. Therefore, whatever the outcome, the charges are different, and they are not often headed with elderly abuse.
The challenges in this enterprise are uncountable. There are great, many barriers in obtaining the needed statistics. The worse kinds are the abuses that are hidden and committed in privacy. It could also be that the victim himself or herself is unwilling to report and testify. In cases of cognitive decline, like dementia, authorities may be inclined not to take them seriously. The challenges, then again, are great and numerous. However, with societal force, they can be overcome.
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