Old Age Abuse Is Invisible All Over the World – Telam

In 2011, in resolution 66/127, the United Nations decided to designate the 15th of June as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.

This problem is not new, but it is invisible all over the world.

Maltreatment situations in old age are complex and multifactorial.

Abuse is defined as "any act or omission causing intentional or unintentional harm to persons 65 years of age or older, occurring in the family, community or institutional environment, impairing physical integrity and mental, the principle of autonomy or the rest of the fundamental rights of the individual, objectively verifiable or subjectively perceived ".

It must be borne in mind that this occurs in the context of a relationship of trust or proximity. Acts of violence, although not less serious, are not included here.

According to the United Nations, one in six people in the world would be abused, but there are no concrete traces and some recorded data, because many older people do not report anything.

With regard to the types of abuse, they can be categorized as: physical, psychological, physical, badual abuse, material or financial abuse and violation of rights.

It is important to know these situations in order to prevent them.

Risk factors are being a woman and disabled, with precarious health, functional deterioration, sensory deprivation, dementia, depression, sleep disturbances, social isolation, and a history of violence.

Abusers are usually the spouse, adult children and caregivers.

Some children often have addicted behavior or are under an excessive and prolonged burden of care (burnout). We can observe, inversion of the parental role, infantilization or reification of the elderly.

Because abuse and abuse can occur in institutions, staff training and teamwork are fundamental.

The badessment of abuse and elder abuse is part of comprehensive geriatric badessment, an interdisciplinary and multidimensional approach to badessing older adults, diagnosing and performing the necessary interventions.

Interventions should be interdisciplinary, using first aid and not punishment, while ensuring the safety of the victim. These should try to provoke the slightest break between the victim and his family.

In the area of ​​prevention, it is essential to disseminate it in the media and to campaign for a culture of quality treatment. respect the wishes and preferences of older people, whether institutionalized or not; Respect autonomy, the right to go out and enter institutions, consent to entry and the right to baduality.

The Inter-American Convention for the Protection of the Human Rights of the Elderly addresses many of these aspects and our law 27 360, approved in May 2017, adheres to it.

President of the Argentine Society of Gerontology and Geriatrics.