World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

Elder abuse is a single or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust, which causes harm or distress to an older person.  Elder mistreatment , also known as elder abuse, refers to any knowing, intentional, or negligent act by a caregiver or other person that causes harm or a serious risk of harm to a vulnerable older adult. It encompasses a range of actions, including physical, emotional, financial abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse. This mistreatment can occur in various settings, such as in the home, nursing homes, or assisted living facilities. The Types of Elder Mistreatment are: Physical Abuse : Involves the use of physical force that results in pain, injury, or impairment. This can include hitting, slapping, pushing, or restraining. Emotional/Psychological Abuse : Involves verbal or nonverbal behaviors that inflict anguish, fear, or distress. Examples include humiliation, threats, isolation, and intimid...

This  virtual event , held in observance of  WEAAD 2025 , will focus on the abuse of older adults in long-term care facilities. Whereas most  older people  live in the community, institutional care is a reality for many. As the need for  institutional care  grows with global aging, so do concerns about safeguarding the rights, safety, and dignity of residents is of outmost importance. Despite increased awareness, many countries still lack reliable, disaggregated data, and staff shortages or lack of adequate training, continue to create high-risk conditions for  abuse and neglect . A WHO-supported study revealed that nearly 64% of  institutional staff  admitted to  abusive behavior  in the previous year, h ighlighting the urgent need for systemic change.

 Long-term care (LTC) services were recognized by the United Nations Economic and Social Council as one of the emerging issues that the international community needs to act upon¹. Nursing homes, memory care units, and other institutional settings play a critical role in supporting older persons experiencing physical or cognitive decline, as well as those with care and support needs, yet they also present unique challenges. Meeting these challenges is critical when ensuring the protection of residents from abuse and neglect. Abuse of older persons in institutional settings, such as nursing homes and long-term care facilities, is often an unrecognized public health issue. A World Health Organization (WHO)-led meta-study from 2017 reviewed published studies that conducted long-term care staff interviews to address the difficulty of gaining access to and obtaining informed consent from nursing home residents. Researchers found that 62.2 per cent of those interviewed believed that in th...

Ageism affects how we think, feel and act towards others and ourselves based on age. It imposes powerful barriers to the development of good policies and programmes for older and younger people, and has profound negative consequences on older adults’ health and well-being. Launched by World Health Organization, the Combatting Ageism Campaign aims to change the narrative around age and ageing and help create a world for all ages.

Between 2019 and 2030, the number of persons aged 60 years or over is projected to grow by 38%, from 1 billion to 1.4 billion, globally outnumbering youth, and this increase will be the greatest and the most rapid in the developing world, and recognizing that greater attention needs to be paid to the specific challenges affecting older persons , including in the field of human rights. Elder abuse is a problem that exists in both developing and developed countries yet is typically under-reported globally. Prevalence rates or estimates exist only in selected developed countries — ranging from 1% to 10%. Although the extent of elder mistreatment is unknown, its social and moral significance is obvious. As such, it demands a global multifaceted response, one which focuses on protecting the rights of older persons . Approaches to define, detect and address elder abuse need to be placed within a cultural context and considered along side culturally specific risk factors. For example, in s...

 Since 2006, The World Elder Abuse Awareness Day ( WEAAD ) has been observed annually on June 15th following the initiative of the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (INPEA) in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO). In 2011, the United Nations General Assembly officially recognized the day by the  Resolution 66/127 ), making it part of the international calendar for ageing and the human rights of older persons.  By 2050, it is estimated that 1 in every 6 people will be aged 65 or over, increasing the vulnerability experienced by older persons to violence. Around 1 in 6 people 60 years and older experienced some form of abuse in community settings during the past year. Elder abuse can lead to serious physical injuries and long-term psychological consequences. Elder abuse is predicted to increase as many countries are experiencing rapidly ageing populations.