Elder Abuse: The Unreported Problem

Many people are uninformed, which leads to numbers that do not accurately represent what is happening. If you do not report the abuse, it can't be recorded. Having accurate statistics helps to show how prevalent a problem is and why people should help. Having to decide how much information to gather on the victim leads to missing information and fewer statistics to show the public. There aren't many federal rules on researching elderly people, so there isn't much of a plan to follow. In addition to these issues, there aren't many researchers in this field of study (Viles and Beckman, LLC). Society isn't helping this issue by beginning to see the elderly as less important than the younger generation. This is leading to a widespread lack of respect for the elderly. This is evident in nursing homes. Many people are almost never visited by their family members. Most geriatric abuse goes on behind closed doors because people consider it a private, family matter. Often, personal problems in the caregiver's life lead to abuse of the person in their care, whether that is in a home or a facility. We need to make people aware and reinstall respect for the eldery in our society (American Psychological Association).