Professionals Play a Critical Role in Stopping Elder Abuse & Neglect
Professionals who work in programs for the elderly are likely to be the first to discover abuse and can provide a vital link to protective services, including APS and law enforcement. As a professional, you have the unique opportunity to be able to offer support and encouragement to your clients as they take action to end their victimization.
How to Support Victims of Elder Sexual Assault
Older sexual assault victims need many of the same services and interventions younger victims need:
- Legal interventions where appropriate and desired
- Medical care
- Non-judgmental emotional support
- Protection from unsupervised access by the accuser
In Bucks County, adult protective services programs work collaboratively with the local rape crisis center staff to learn more about the dynamics of sexual abuse and how to effectively intervene with victims in a sensitive manner.
Report Elder Abuse
- Report abuse to your local Area Agency on Aging or local police department.
- Tell the victim that nobody deserves to be abused and encourage them to accept help.
- Provide information that can help in proving abuse to as great extent possible while respecting clients' confidentiality and right to privacy
- Examples: observed patterns in behavior, marks on skin, interactions between clients and caregivers, etc.
- Provide emotional support to victims
- Provide or refer clients to services that reduce risk and vulnerability, such as your local victim service agency