This discussion paper reports on the experience and practice observations of Better Place Australia in responding to elder abuse through the Respecting Elders service in 2017-18. Elder abuse may take the form of neglect, psychological, social, financial, physical, or sexual abuse. Elder abuse continues to be hidden within families or institutions and thus, it is difficult to determine prevalence. Recent figures from the Australian Institute of Family Studies (2016) suggest that 2-10% of older Australians have experienced abuse.
The drivers of elder abuse are complex and include gender, power and control, and ageism. The academic literature identifies several common risk factors for elder abuse, these include cognitive impairment or another disability, social isolation, history of trauma, care dependency, low income, interdependent relationship between parents and adult children and having a perpetrator who experiences depression or substance misuse.
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