Why Older Adults Are Vulnerable to Abuse – And Why It Often Goes Undetected

Written by: Falcon Rappaport & Berkman LLP

NOTE: This article is Part 1 of our Elder Abuse Awareness series published in recognition of Elder Abuse Awareness Day.

Older adults are among the groups of individuals most vulnerable to abuse, and because of this, they are frequently targeted for abuse and neglect by individuals who seek to take advantage of them for nefarious purposes and personal gain.

The harm they suffer is compounded by the fact that elder abuse often goes unnoticed and unreported for extended periods of time – resulting in an increased duration and severity of abuse against these individuals. A number of factors contribute to this problem, and help explain why abuse may continue against an older victim without meaningful intervention – even when the signs are there.

Elderly Individuals are Prime Targets for Abuse

There are a number of reasons why elderly individuals can be prime targets for abuse. The circumstances giving rise to the elder person’s social isolation and loneliness tend to coincide with factors which make an elderly person an attractive target for abuse.

Financial Abuse and Exploitation of the Elderly

When it comes to financial abuse and exploitation of the elderly, older adults are often targeted when at a crossroads in their lives – having amassed a savings over the course of their careers, now either retired or about to retire, there is often a liquidable stockpile of savings that abusers believe is ripe for the taking. For older adults navigating the recent loss of a spouse or partner, the individual may have just been thrust, for the first time, into finding themselves solely responsible for managing all of the household finances. Others may be unable to live independently, due to their medical needs – loneliness and emotional isolation can often take a significant toll on an elderly person, impacting their own perspective on their personal and financial priorities.

In these moments, elderly individuals often seek the help and guidance of someone who can assist them in managing their day-to-day finances, including paying their bills, reconciling accounts, and monitoring investments. However, this increased level of access and information that a friend, relative or caregiver may obtain when assisting an elderly person with their needs can create a line of personal access to information and documentation traditionally limited to a small, secure audience of trusted individuals – which, if that trust is misplaced, can grant an untrustworthy individual unfettered access to their financial and personal information to be used for problematic and self-serving goals.

The “Loneliness Epidemic” and Why Elderly Individuals are Vulnerable to Financial Abuse

For many elderly individuals who are coping with loss and change to their day-to-day lives – perhaps due to the death of a spouse or partner, they are now living alone for the first time. The emotional component of these major lifestyle changes can be profound, and the resulting loneliness that seniors often experience amidst these changes makes them susceptible to manipulation by others, and a target for those seeking to take advantage of their vulnerability.

For seniors who are suddenly living alone, for the first time in many years, engaging in innocent, well-intentioned outreach through social media groups for widows/widowers, or seniors seeking friendship and companionship, can easily lead to inadvertent sharing of personal information that can be used against them by elder abusers-in-waiting. Romance scams, for example, are a growing trend and a common method of financial abuse perpetrated against the elderly by internet scammers who prey upon the loneliness of seniors, offering attention and affection as a means by which to ultimately extort the individual’s assets – leaving a trail of financial and emotional destruction in their wake. In most cases, a lack of familiarity with internet technology, difficulty detecting the signs of fraud in these online communications, and a willingness to set aside doubt in the hope that the romance itself is real, all contribute toward the increase in these scams targeting older adults.

Increased Vulnerability Among Cognitively-Impaired Elderly Individuals

Age-related cognitive decline, and more profound forms of impairment resulting from conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, also contribute heavily to the prevalence of elder abuse. The natural biological process of aging causes decreased mental processing speed and a decreased ability for older individuals to detect and accurately identify deceptive cues and manipulation, making it much more difficult for elderly people to recognize that they are being targeted for financial abuse.

Cognitively-impaired individuals are often unable to meaningfully review, interpret and monitor their finances – they are often limited in their ability to review bank statements, monitor fraud alerts, or balance a checkbook. The difficulty these individuals have in managing their own personal finances makes them a target for potential scam activities or financial exploitation, and a person suffering from cognitive impairment may not have the presence of mind or judgment to prioritize maintaining the security and confidentially of their financial information. They may inadvertently share financial account numbers, pin numbers, or give out other sensitive information, without realizing their error until it is too late, and they’ve effectively handed over the roadmap to their own financial exploitation.

Cognitive impairment not only presents an opportunity for abuse, but a practical barrier to putting a stop to the abuse once it starts. For cognitively impaired individuals, common symptoms and manifestations of these conditions, such as confusion, and difficulty recalling facts and events with certainty, can undermine the credibility of their accounts, and lead others to question or dismiss reports of abusive behavior. Memory loss may also prevent elder abuse victims from remembering that the abuse occurred at all, creating an opportunity for an abuser to act repeatedly without much fear of it being reported – and making it difficult for the victim to seek justice for the crimes perpetrated against them.

Aging Can Increase Vulnerability to Physical Abuse and Conceal its Existence

Elderly people are also at increased risk of physical abuse, for a variety of reasons.

The natural effects of aging – such as decreased mobility, weakened strength, and physical frailty – make older adults less capable of defending themselves, less able to remove themselves from unsafe situations, and more likely to suffer serious injury even from relatively minor physical force. Given certain physical and cognitive limitations many elderly people experience, elderly individuals are also more likely to be limited in their ability to determine what practical steps they would need to take if they want to seek help, or escape an abusive situation.

Further complicating this issue is that many physical signs of abuse can be masked, or explained away, as “accidental falls” or other legitimate injuries that older adults are more naturally prone to as they age. This makes it easier for abusers to conceal their abusive conduct behind plausible explanations for injuries that might otherwise serve as telltale indicators of abuse, making signs of elder abuse less obvious to a casual observer.

Social Isolation and Dependence on Caregivers Contribute Toward Abuse, Makes It Harder for Victims to Report

Social factors associated with aging – chief among them, victims’ social isolation and their dependence on caregivers – are also significant contributors toward this issue.

For older adults who live alone, a caregiver or companion may be the only person they see on a daily basis. Abusers often work to isolate their victims further—limiting access to family members or friends who might ask questions about unexplained injuries, unusual financial transactions, or other warning signs. This isolation serves as a practical barrier to bringing help to the victim, allowing the abuser’s conduct to go undetected.

In some cases, a caregiver may exploit the dependence an older adult has on them for assistance with activities of daily living and other basic necessities, manipulating the person into accepting or concealing predatory financial arrangements or abusive treatment out of fear of abandonment.

For those who rely on their abuser for physical assistance – preparing meals, helping them to the bathroom, administering medication – reporting abuse raises a terrifying question: Who will take care of me if I speak up? Even when an older adult senses that something is “not right” about their situation, the fear of being abandoned or involuntarily placed in a nursing home or assisted living facility may be enough to discourage them from seeking help – especially if no alternative caregiving arrangement is known to them.

The victim may reason that the financial exploitation they are suffering is an acceptable “cost” of maintaining their caregiving arrangement and remaining in their own home. Victims may also fear retaliation—particularly if they live with their abuser, or reside in a residential care facility where they may be vulnerable to escalated abuse, if their report is not believed or acted upon.

Complicated Family Dynamics Can Discourage Reporting

Attachment to family members and a desire to preserve the existing family dynamic can make elder abuse victims more likely to tolerate abusive behavior by their children or other relatives—and less likely to report it. This is particularly common when older adults have already lost other loved ones—spouses, siblings, adult children, or close friends—and feel both limited in the pool of potential caregivers available to them, and fearful of losing another cherished relationship, even with someone who is harming them.

Elder abuse victims are often reluctant to take any action that would sever the relationship or disrupt the family by “making waves”—especially if exposing one family member’s misconduct would cause conflict among siblings or other relatives. The elder abuse victim may reason that enduring the mistreatment is a price worth paying to “maintain peace within the family,” however illusory that peace may actually be.

Understanding Why Older Adults Fall Victim to Elder Abuse Is a Key Part of Knowing How to Stop It

The next step is learning to recognize the warning signs—and knowing what to look for to determine whether someone you care about may be experiencing abuse or neglect.

NOTE: This Elder Abuse Awareness series is published in honor of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, recognized on June 15th each year to raise awareness about the abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation of older adults. If you suspect that a loved one is being abused, neglected, or exploited, do not wait for the situation to escalate. 

Full Article & Source:
Why Older Adults Are Vulnerable to Abuse – And Why It Often Goes Undetected