Comment 108714

By Kris (registered) | Posted February 03, 2015 at 19:24:02

I agree with ItJustId that the article ends up somewhere different from where it started. Elder abuse and gender-based intimate partner violence definitely have some overlap but are also quite different social problems with their own particular needs. As the author points out, elder abuse includes much more than violence and often takes the form of severe neglect or financial exploitation. It is also not necessarily gender-based, and it isn't necessarily perpetrated by an intimate partner (for example, abusers are sometimes the children). More importantly, there are particularities to elder abuse unique to this social pathology that require specialized expertise. For example, many victims suffer from cognitive impairments like dementia which pose challenges to advocacy and self-advocacy. There can be legal issue regarding power of attorney. The frail and elderly have special needs in care provision, esp. related to health care. And so forth.

So although One in Four does good work, for elder abuse I strongly recommend leaning on resources and support from social organizations with a specialty in serving seniors. I would also resist treating elder abuse as a sub-set or special kind of gender-based intimate partner violence.

Btw, I hope it's clear that by making these observations I'm in no way trying to detract from the seriousness of woman abuse as an issue.

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