Actualidad
From the book "Family Violence, Social Work and Institutions" by Ruth Teubal, member of the Shalom Bait team. *
The importance of elder abuse lies in the dimension of the problem, and in its hidden nature. According to information from other societies, child abuse is reported in one in three cases. In elder abuse, only one in six cases comes to the attention of legal, protection and assistance authorities (Chernak and Goldstein). We are referring to societies where awareness about the problem of intrafamily violence has been developing and intervening in it, for more years than in our local environment.
Aging and elder abuse
Awareness about abuse of the elderly probably has a certain path, facilitated by the prior visibility of other forms of abuse in the family, such as spousal violence and child abuse. You have against you having to deal with the myriad of prejudices and negative representations regarding this age group, and with the increase in the proportion of old-old adults, (over 75 years of age), both healthy and with various health problems. , in a context of growing social exclusion, with significant numbers of young people also unemployed and without activity. It would seem that a true apartheid could take place with the older population (El Correo 1999). This reality transforms the mentioned social category as a risk group.
REASONS FOR UNDER-RECORDING IN ELDERLY ABUSE
As in other forms of intrafamily violence, isolation and secrecy are two dimensions that are very present in family violence towards the elderly. The phenomenon of underreporting and underreporting has various explanations: they are usually related to:
The difficulty for professionals to identify victims of abuse
The lack of knowledge about the problem of family violence in general, and towards the elderly in particular, is frequent; there is no awareness of this reality, it is not in the imaginary of the professional. As J. de Paul Otchotorena says, what is not known is not detected. Added to the above is a series of prejudices and myths about this social category: the old are “dirty”, “curmudgeons”, “demanders”, “talkers”, “ill”; old men, "old dirty men", old women, mourners, etc.
The concrete living conditions of the elderly
Isolation: older people, and especially those who are in a state of fragility, are less visible on the streets and public places than other age groups. […] they come out less, or in many cases, they don't come out at all. […] A prostrate old man can find himself in a state of isolation and total dependence. He can only be seen by his caretaker. (Quinn and Tamita. 1997). Another factor related to isolation refers to the reactions of individuals and the general public to the very old and frail. Many people may tend to distance themselves, distance themselves, feel uncomfortable in the presence of elderly people with obvious disabilities; or not know how to proceed. This further contributes to isolating them.
The older adult's fear of being abandoned, isolated, institutionalized, or receiving physical or emotional retaliation
Shame on public exposure of the problem. Fear of not knowing how a complaint can end. In old women with traditional values, they can come to consider themselves the culprits of the violence. The belief of the elderly that the most important thing is to preserve the harmony of the home. The elderly can come to feel that they are a burden. The experience of losing multiple situations of power makes them powerless. Alternative reactions to this situation may be excessive “acceptance”, extreme docility and compliance as dependency increases. Many times this submission also evokes or facilitates abuse. Learned helplessness can also occur in elderly women who, in their previous years, were also abused women and therefore consider that nothing they do can change their destiny. The elderly may feel ashamed for having raised an abusive child, fear of the breakdown of affective relationships, or "I put up with everything because she is my daughter / or..." The fantasy that the abuse will end. There are elderly people who minimize or deny the abuse. Others, given their psychic conditions, cannot perceive it.
The non-reporting of abusers and the absence of centralized and coordinated reporting mechanisms
The elderly can rotate (or be rotated by their caregivers) from both reporting and assistance places. To the extent that there are no centralized computer systems, [...] many victims will remain unidentified, and in unsafe environmental contexts. This is a deficient situation of the entire public institutional system.
The non-reporting of abusers and the absence of centralized and coordinated reporting mechanisms
The elderly can rotate (or be rotated by their caregivers) from both reporting and assistance places. To the extent that there are no centralized computer systems, [...] many victims will remain unidentified, and in unsafe environmental contexts. This is a deficient situation of the entire public and private institutional system, referring to the various forms of violence in the family. It allows institutions to remain unaware of both perpetrators and victims of intrafamily violence. There is rotation through the different care services to deal with the crisis, and then disappear.
GENDER AND OLD AGE
Female gender, health and care in old age
Entering old age tends to be a very different experience for women than it is for men. They tend to get sick differently from men: they suffer more frequently from chronic and disabling illnesses that require long-term (home) care […] These health conditions have a negative effect on their lives and those of their affective support networks. […] Private and public medical services tend not to take into account these characteristics of the sickness of women who require more home medical care, and not hospital admissions. The chronic conditions of women have promoted in them the myth of "complainers". Unfortunately, older women tend to require multiple forms of medical care for long-term and chronic ailments, experience greater social isolation, and risk having their autonomy and independence challenged.
Who cares for the elderly also has a gender
According to bibliographic sources (ONU 1993, 1999; Quinn and Tomita 1997) at a global level, women are the main caregivers of the elderly population. In an older couple, it's usually going to be the wife. When there is no wife, the caregiving task will generally fall to the daughter, or daughters, and sometimes to the daughters-in-law. Children are rarely going to deal with physical care, although they do offer instrumental and material contributions, when this is possible.
* Part III, Chapter 10 “Violence against the elderly”, from the book “Family Violence, Social Work and Institutions”, Editorial Paidós, 2001. Ruth Teubal and collaborators.
PHONE NUMBER
(011) 4701 5890
+54 9 11 4940-7973
Monday from 13.00 to 19.00
from Tuesday to Thursday from 9.00 to 19.00 hs.
EMAIL
info@shalombait.org.ar
ADRESS
Bonpland 723, CABA, Argentina.
FACEBOOK
144 - THE WHOLE COUNTRY
Advice, guidance, information and support for women victims of violence.
137 - CITY OF BUENOS AIRES
Attention and orientation to victims of violence. It carries out home interventions with a mobile team in emergency situations and accompaniment in making complaints.
102 - CABA
Information and referrals in situations of mistreatment and sexual abuse of Girls, Boys and Adolescents.
OVD
Receive complaints of domestic violence 24 hours a day.
Address: Lavalle 1250.
PHONE NUMBER
(011) 4701 5890
+54 9 11 4940-7973
Monday from 13.00 to 19.00
from Tuesday to Thursday from 9.00 to 19.00 hs.
EMAIL
info@shalombait.org.ar
ADRESS
Bonpland 723, CABA, Argentina.
FACEBOOK
144 - THE WHOLE COUNTRY
Advice, guidance, information and support for women victims of violence.
137 - CITY OF BUENOS AIRES
Attention and orientation to victims of violence. It carries out home interventions with a mobile team in emergency situations and accompaniment in making complaints.
102 - CABA
Information and referrals in situations of mistreatment and sexual abuse of Girls, Boys and Adolescents.
OVD
Receive complaints of domestic violence 24 hours a day.
Address: Lavalle 1250.