The Unethical Abuse of Todays Elderly Essay

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention standardly defines elder abuse as “any abuse and neglect of persons age 60 or older by a caregiver or another person in a relationship involving an expectation of trust” (CDC, Elder Abuse). It is always thought that the elderly are treated with honor, dignity and respect but many of the elderly have been abused and neglected as much if not worse than the children we spoke of in our previous discussions. Who seriously could hurt these frail people, someone’s grandparents, possibly even your own; persons who because of the aging process have lost their ability to fight back and are being bullied or attacked by someone in a position of trust. It is estimated that 70% to 90% of the perpetrators of elderly

At present, we can see some cases of elder abuse and age-based discrimination happened in Canada. For example, some employers, medical care workers and service staffs are not treat old adults as well as professional. It is an ageism behavior and there are plenty people don’t have awareness of human rights of old people. Therefore, it is necessary for people to be educated with that, especially the professionals. Furthermore, as far as I am concerned, the quality of life for old Canadian adults not only limits to the basic needs, but also older people want more and more spiritual demand and physical satisfaction. Based on the report, it argued that old adults should also have opportunity to the job and the mandatory retirement should be abolished and employers also need to encourage this positive employment environment. As a result, a professional society would teach people to respect the elderly, satisfy their needs and eliminate the bias of people for them.

Abuse can happen to anyone, but elderly adults residing in nursing homes are more vulnerable and have a higher risk for abuse (Rasansky Law Firm, 2006, para. 1). Elders are among the fastest growing in the population, and because of this many more elderly

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act governs discrimination in the work place for people age forty and older. “Under the ADEA, it is unlawful to discriminate against a person because of his/her age with respect to any term, condition, or privilege of employment, including hiring, firing, promotion, layoff, compensation, benefits, job assignments, and training” (EEOC, 2008). Because of companies wanting employees that were going to have longevity from their starting point, or wanting to move the younger people up the corporate ladder, something had to be done to protect the rights of the older generation.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) protects against age discrimination under Title VII. Specifically, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), which was passed in 1967 by congress, covers discrimination against employees who are 40 or more years old. This topic should be a big concern for employers, since the number of elderly workers is increasing as the baby boomer population matures. It is estimated that as many as twenty-percent of the claims filed with the EEOC are for age discrimination. Also, age discrimination settlements can be considerably higher than typical discrimination cases. Upon research, the average award amount between 1955 and 1988 was $219,000.

When presented with the word “elderly,” a twenty-year-old might begin to think of the joys of retirement when an older person has spent their life building a comfortable bank account; they then get to reward themselves by journeying around the world with their near and most dear companion. When reality sets in, that person may realize that a lot of today’s elderly are living in nursing homes or living week-by-week not knowing if they are going to be able to leave their hospital bed just to go relax in their recliner at home. While it is true that some elderly enjoy their last twenty or thirty years on earth, a lot of the elderly in America are struggling to hang on to life while being abused every day by healthcare workers or even loved ones. While many people have been working endlessly to put a stop to elder abuse, not everyone can say the same.

Elder abuse is a growing problem that can be a challenge to address. Physical, emotional, and financial abuse is associated with increased mortality rates, especially in those that are alone. The National center on Elder Abuse (as cited in Hoover & Polson, 2014) defines elder abuse as “intentional or neglectful acts by a caregiver or ‘trusted’ individual that lead to or may lead to, harm of a vulnerable elder”. Mistreatment of older adults will incline as the number of adults that need caregivers increase. The elder adult that is the most susceptible to abuse is most likely frail, defenseless, and cognitively impaired. Amidst all other problems, the older adult has encountered at least one type of abuse in their later years. Many cases of older adult abuse are not reported and the abuse continues until mortality.

Abuse is defined as the willful infliction of physical pain, injury, or mental anguish upon an older adult, or willful deprivation by a caretaker of services necessary for physical and mental health (Falk, Baigis, & Kopac, 2012). Elder mistreatment is unrecognized, hidden, underreported, and encompasses a broad range of abuse including self-neglect, financial exploitation, and emotional harm, all of which require a different type of intervention (Falk et al., 2012). Screening and assessment are necessary to determine whether an elderly person is being abused, exploited or neglected by someone or if he or she is unable to provide self-care (Falk et al., 2012). In March 2010, the Elder Justice Act (EJA) was passed as a part of the Affordable Care Act, which authorizes federal response to elder abuse through training, services, and demonstration programs (Dong, 2012). Part I of EJA calls for the formation of an Elder Justice Coordinating Council comprised of federal government representatives charged with the responsibility of administering programs for the promotion of elder justice (Falk et al., 2012). The Council is to provide recommendations to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services on the issue of abuse, neglect, and exploitation of the elderly (Falk et al., 2012). Part II focuses on the authorization of programs aimed at enhancing long-term care (Falk et al.,

This scholarly journal looks at elderly abuse in general. It talks about different ways one can notice that the senior is being abused and what to do about the abuse. It also describes different reasons why the abusers abuse the elderly. It says how elderly abuse can be very difficult to notice and it is also difficult to help the seniors. The article then describes the difficulties that seniors have when they are abused. It talks a little about senior homes and how the elderly are treated by the nurses. It also gives some specific examples of abuse and the role of the government in this situation. This article is very opinionated and the author expresses her views on the topic very clearly.

“Every year an estimated 5 million older Americans are victims of elder abuse, neglect, or exploitation. And that’s only part of the picture: Experts believe that for every case of elder abuse or neglect reported, as many as 23 cases go unreported” ("World Elder Abuse Awareness Day"). The issue of elderly abuse is a growing topic in our country because it violates three specific articles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Elderly abuse and neglect is an increasing age discrimination issue in the United States and violates the human rights to an adequate standard of living, equal protection under the law, and the right to be free from degrading treatment.

Since starting in February of 2016 I’ve had a clash of ideas concerning senior home care. One the one hand they provide many of life’s necessities, such as companionship, sustenance, and medical care but on the other it greatly diminishes individual autonomy and freedom to do many of the things an individual may love. Consequently, it was not until Diversity in Learning that I began to make connections to my discomforts towards senior homes. These discomforts stemmed from two social justice concepts: Privilege and discrimination, specifically ableism.

Elderly abuse in nursing homes in America is an uprising issue. Elders make up a large portion of our population and they deserve the equality. This issue is very important because eventually this could affect you personally, or a loved one in your family. I stand for better environments in these nursing homes and find it terrible that elders get treated so poorly. The reason the number of reports on elder abuse has gone up so rapidly in the past decade is because the number of elders has drastically risen. There is an increase in the number of elders not only because Americans are living longer than ever before, but also because the next generation of senior citizens is larger than ever before. It has been predicted

The age of 65 is usually considered a senior citizen which is usually formally known as the aging population. The aging population is consisted of ages 65 and older, this population appears to be more at risk for utilizing nursing home services. This particular population faces various discrimination and oppression. Often time’s society looks at the elderly as being useless, not technology savvy, mentally ill, physically ill and unattractive due to wrinkles. There was an issue of elderly abuse in nursing homes due to some of the elderly not being strong enough to fight back or mentally capable of speaking up for themselves. Over the years the aging population suffered from elderly abuse, working discrimination, and age discrimination. From numerous accounts of elderly abuse and discrimination over the years various laws have been placed to protect the aging population.

The Age Discrimination Employment Act (ADEA) was passed over 40 years ago (in 1967) prohibiting the denial of employment, forced retirement, hours of employment, compensation, or termination of individuals due to the person's age, and it was meant to encourage the employment of older individuals based on their abilities and invaluable experience. However, age discrimination and ageism still permeate American society and the workplace.”(Tate)

It is known as any knowing, intentional, or negligent act by a caregiver, stranger, loved one, or any other person that may cause any type of risk or harm to an elderly adult. It is well known that as the elderly population ages, they become more fragile and weak and they are less able to stand up for themselves, whether it is bullying or fighting back if they are being attacked (Health Guide). Many individual’s think it is right to take advantage of the elderly since many of them suffer from health issues such as being blind, not hearing well, Dementia, not being able to think clearly for themselves, not able to defend themselves, etc. Many seniors around the world are being abused in some kind of way and they are mostly always harmed by the people who are responsible for their care (Health Guide). Just in the U.S alone, more than half a million reports against elderly neglect reach the authorities and about million more cases go unreported every day (Health Guide).