The pandemic was a terrible time for everyone throughout the globe. But many people were impacted more heavily than others, with the senior population being hit hard because of the vulnerable position that seniors already find themselves in.
But the pandemic did more than just create tough situations for the elderly. It also exposed some seniors to dangerous and abusive situations. But even though abuse was expected to go up, we really don’t have hard data on what actually happened.
Seniors were hit hardest by the pandemic. For example, in the state of Florida which has the highest percentage of elderly individuals in the U.S., 77 percent of the people that died from COVID-19 were aged 65 or older. But even with this huge senior population, many counties had zero reported instances of senior abuse. This is in a situation where experts predicted these numbers to skyrocket. Something doesn’t seem quite right if you think about this.
All across the country, experts believe that the number of elder abuse cases that were actually reported during the pandemic do not equal the amount of abusive situations that actually occurred. Prior to the pandemic, some experts stated that only about one in every 24 abuse cases were actually reported. During the pandemic, this number was likely much higher. Unfortunately, we might never know how deep the damage done really was.
Elder abuse is always a major deal. It’s never okay that someone be treated as inferior or expendable simply because they are more vulnerable. And that’s a large part of what elder abuse is. Someone who is in a difficult position already because of their age, cognitive status, or disability, is taken advantage of for the benefit of another person. This can be financially, sexually, or something else. At the end of the day, no type of abuse is okay. We need to do everything that we can to protect those who are at risk of having this happen to them, regardless of the reasoning why.
Awareness of the pandemic’s impact on abuse and the increased potential is a first step. Hopefully, this blog post helps to raise awareness about this. But awareness is only the start. We need to do something about it.
What that looks like will be different for you than it might be for others. We all have our own unique tracts of life, we’re all surrounded by different crowds of people, and we all play different roles. However, we all play a role in reducing the risk of abuse for those seniors that are in our lives.
Here at Paradise In-Home Care, we believe that elder abuse can only be avoided when we work together. That’s one of the great things about in-home care–it takes a team approach to providing care. Because the care takes place in the home, it incorporates the entire family into the process.
We’re happy to talk more about how in-home care might benefit your family. Give us a call and schedule your free consultation session today to get started.
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