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ELDER ABUSE – DEFINITIONS
The material provided on the 211 eLibrary is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be and should not be construed as legal advice.
The following information is summarized from: Connecticut General Statutes, Sec.17b-450, and "NCEA Frequently Asked Questions" from the National Center on Elder Abuse Web site.
WHO IS AN "ELDER"?
According to the Connecticut General Statutes, Sec.17b-450, an "elder" or "elderly person" means any resident of Connecticut who is sixty years of age or older.
WHAT IS ELDER ABUSE?
Federal definitions of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation appeared for the first time in the 1987 Amendments to the Older Americans Act. These definitions were provided in the law only as guidelines for identifying the problems and not for enforcement purposes. Currently, elder abuse is defined by state laws, and in Connecticut, the definitions are found in the Connecticut General Statutes, Sec.17b-450. Domestic elder abuse generally refers to any of several types of maltreatment of an older person by someone who has a special relationship with the elder (e.g., a spouse, a sibling, a child, a friend, or a caregiver in the older person's own home or in the home of a caregiver.) Institutional abuse, on the other hand, generally refers to any of the types of abuse that occur in residential facilities for older persons (e.g., nursing homes, foster homes, group homes, board and care facilities). Perpetrators of institutional abuse usually are persons who have a legal or contractual obligation to provide elder victims with care and protection (e.g., paid caregivers, staff, professionals). The major types of elder abuse are:
- Physical abuse is defined as the use of physical force that may result in bodily injury, physical pain, or impairment. Physical abuse may include but is not limited to such acts of violence as striking (with or without an object), hitting, beating, pushing, shoving, shaking, slapping, kicking, pinching, and burning. In addition, the inappropriate use of drugs and physical restraints, force-feeding, and physical punishment of any kind also are examples of physical abuse.
- Sexual abuse is defined as non-consensual sexual contact of any kind with an elderly person. Sexual contact with any person incapable of giving consent is also considered sexual abuse. It includes but is not limited to unwanted touching, all types of sexual assault or battery, such as rape, sodomy, coerced nudity, and sexually explicit photographing.
- Emotional or psychological abuse is defined as the infliction of anguish, pain, or distress through verbal or nonverbal acts. Emotional/psychological abuse includes but is not limited to verbal assaults, insults, threats, intimidation, humiliation, and harassment. In addition, treating an older person like an infant; isolating an elderly person from his/her family, friends, or regular activities; giving an older person the "silent treatment;" and enforced social isolation are examples of emotional/psychological abuse.
- Neglect is defined as the refusal or failure to fulfill any part of a person's obligations or duties to an elder. Neglect may also include failure of a person who has fiduciary responsibilities to provide care for an elder (e.g., pay for necessary home care services) or the failure on the part of an in-home service provider to provide necessary care. Neglect typically means the refusal or failure to provide an elderly person with such life necessities as food, water, clothing, shelter, personal hygiene, medicine, comfort, personal safety, and other essentials included in an implied or agreed-upon responsibility to an elder.
- Abandonment is defined as the desertion of an elderly person by an individual who has assumed responsibility for providing care for an elder, or by a person with physical custody of an elder.
- Financial or material exploitation is defined as the illegal or improper use of an elder's funds, property, or assets. Examples include but are not limited to cashing an elderly person's checks without authorization/permission; forging an older person's signature; misusing or stealing an older person's money or possessions; coercing or deceiving an older person into signing any document (e.g., contracts or will); and the improper use of conservatorship, guardianship, or power of attorney.
- Self-neglect is characterized as the behavior of an elderly person that threatens his/her own health or safety. Self-neglect generally manifests itself in an older person as a refusal or failure to provide himself/herself with adequate food, water, clothing, shelter, personal hygiene, medication (when indicated), and safety precautions. The definition of self-neglect excludes a situation in which a mentally competent older person, who understands the consequences of his/her decisions, makes a conscious and voluntary decision to engage in acts that threaten his/her health or safety as a matter of personal choice.
TO FIND PROVIDERS IN CONNECTICUT'S COMMUNITY RESOURCES DATABASE:
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SOURCES: "NCEA Frequently Asked Questions" from the National Center on Elder Abuse Web site
Connecticut General Statutes, Sec.17b-450
PREPARED BY: 211/fj
CONTENT LAST REVIEWED: March2008
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