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P a g e
Sexual—This involves forcing an elder to take part in a sexual act when the elder does not
or cannot consent
Emotional—This refers to behaviors that harm an elder’s self-worth or emotional well-being.
Examples include name calling, scaring, embarrassing, destroying property, or not letting
the elder see friends and family
Neglect—This is the failure to meet an elder’s basic needs. These needs include food,
housing, clothing, and medical care
Abandonment—This happens when a caregiver leaves an elder alone and no longer
provides care for him or her
Financial—This is illegally misusing an elder’s money, property, or assets
Elder abuse is a serious problem in the United States. There is a lack of data, but what we do
know is that nationally in 2008, one in 10 elders reported emotional, physical, or sexual
mistreatment or potential neglect in the past year. Many cases are not reported because elders
are afraid to tell police, friends, or family about the violence. Victims have to decide to tell
someone they are being hurt or continue being abused by someone they depend upon or care
for deeply. Signs of elder abuse may be missed by professionals working with older Americans
because of lack of training on detecting abuse.
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Despite the fact that the elderly are not high-risk crime victims, their perceptions often create
apprehension. They are more likely to see the daily news reports laden with the results of
police stories and to read the crime stories in the newspaper. They internalize these stories
into believing that there are higher than actual rates of crime. This sometimes affects their
behavior causing them to not want to go places alone, not go out at night and to be fearful at
home when they are alone.
Findings
In Chesapeake, the rate of financial crimes against older persons is trending upward over the
last four years. Violent crimes are six times more frequent for persons under 50 than for
persons 65 and older.
Financial Crime Victims
<50
50-64
65+
No.
Rate/1000
pop
No.
Rate/1000
pop
No.
Rate/1000
pop
2011
640
4.1
236
5.2
109
4.3
2012
727
4.6
290
6.4
120
4.7
2013
842
5.4
308
6.7
171
6.7
2014 (through September)
769
4.9
302
6.6
186
7.3
