The Scope of the Problem

Our population is aging: people who are 65 years and older now account for approximately 15% of the population. Unfortunately, along with an increase in the aging of the population has come an increase in the incidence of elder abuse. In recent years the number of elderly people who have been abused has been increasing. This may be an actual increase in abuse or it may simply be that more cases are being reported.  But whatever the cause, there are more cases of elder abuse occurring every year.

No one knows exactly how many people in this age group are victims of physical and emotional violence. The National Center on Elder Abuse, Bureau of Justice statistics from 2012 reported that in 2010 there were almost 6 million cases of elder abuse, and that 9.5% of the elderly population had been abused at one time. Most victims (67%) were women and the average age of the victims was 77 years. The majority of the cases (58%) involved neglect, 15% involved physical abuse, and 66% of the cases involved abuse by a family member or relative.

These figures are disturbing, but it is even worse to know that there are many, many instances of elder abuse that go unreported – perhaps as many as 85% of all cases.  And aside from the fact that elder abuse is a serious problem because of the pain and trauma that is caused, elderly people who are abused are three times as likely to die as those who are not.