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Elder Abuse Is a Serious Problem
This year hundreds of thousands of elders will be abused, neglected, and exploited. Many victims are people who are older, frail, and vulnerable and cannot help themselves and depend on others to meet their most basic needs.
Legislatures in all 50 states have passed some form of elder abuse prevention laws. Laws and definitions of terms vary considerably from one state to another, but all states have set up reporting systems. Generally, adult protective services (APS) agencies receive and investigate reports of suspected elder abuse.
A 2004 Survey of State Adult Protective Services, found that:
- A 19.7 percent increase from 2000 – 2004 in the combined total of reports of elder and vulnerable adult abuse and neglect;
- A 15.6 percent increase from 2000 – 2004 in substantiated cases;
- In 20 of the states, more than two in five victims (42.8%) were age 80 or older;
- Most alleged perpetrators in 2003 were adult children (32.6%) or other family members (21.5%), and spouses/intimate partners accounted for 11.3% of the total (11 states responding).
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