How prevalent is elder abuse in Australia?

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2023-10-12 03:00

Australia; VIC

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A survey of 7000 older Aussies has found elder abuse is experienced by almost 15% of those over 65 living in the community. Psychological abuse was found to be the most common type (11.7%), followed by neglect (2.9 per cent), financial abuse (2.1 per cent), physical abuse (1.8 per cent) and sexual abuse (0.7 per cent). Abuse was interconnected with poorer physical health, poorer psychological health and a lower sense of social support. The survey found that family accounted for half of all perpetrators, either through intergenerational dynamics (such as children, grandchildren, son/daughters-in-law, etc) or intimate partners. Many older people tended not to seek help, opting to manage the experiences themselves in a way that wouldn’t expose the perpetrators, the team added.

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Journal/
conference: Australian Journal of Social Issues

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Australian Institute of Family Studies

Funder: The National Elder Abuse Prevalence study was commissioned and funded by the Australian Attorney-General’s Department (AGD). The NSW Department of Communities and Justice co-funded the Culturally and Linguistically Diverse groups sub study.

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