Elder Abuse

ELDER ABUSE is any physical, sexual, or 

psychological abuse of an older person 

(generally age 60 – 65 years and older), and 

also encompasses neglect, abandonment, 

and financial exploitation. Elder abuse 

may be perpetrated by another person or 

an entity, and can occur in any setting—at 

home, in an institution, or in the community.D

Older adults may be particularly targeted 

due to age or disability: isolation, reliance 

on caregivers, or decreased physical or 

mental capacity can increase older people’s 

exposure and vulnerability to abuse. In 

addition, older adults—especially those on 

the brink of retirement—may be exploited 

financially due to their perceived resources. 

Reliable data on elder abuse is scarce 

due to very low reporting rates, a lack of 

research, and the hidden nature of this 

crime.

NOTE: Data collection year provided where known. 

Hover for data hyperlinks to source material.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

As few as 1 in 24 cases of elder 

abuse is reported to authorities D

> 12.4% of the U.S. populations is age 65+ H

> Elder abuse affects an estimated 5 million

people each year D

About 2/3 of elder abuse 

victims are women D

Compared to their non-abused peers, 

elder abuse victims are:D

more likely to die prematurely

more likely to be hospitalized

more likely to be admitted to a 

nursing home

3x

3x

4x

Injuries to older adults from violent crime 

account for $5.3 billion annually in 

direct medical care G

5.2% report financial exploitation

by a family memberA

1.6% of older adults report any kind of 

physical mistreatment

over the course of a yearA

vs

Acquaintance (19%)

Partner/spouse (57%)

Child/grandchild (10%)

Other relative (9%)

Offender of Physical Mistreatment:A

Stranger (3%)

Victim refused to answer (2%)

Partners/spo

es

Acquaintanc

s

children/gra

d

other relative

Roughly half of people with dementia are 

abused or neglected by caregivers F

Types of abuse

self-reported by caregivers across studies F

verbal other 

60%

Verbal abuse

neglect other 

14%

Neglect

physical oth

5-10%

Physical abuse
Psychological abuse (19.4%)

Physical abuse (27.4%)

Gross neglect (15.3%)

Financial exploitation (7.9%)

Types of Complaints: B

Sexual abuse (7.9%)

Resident-on-resident physical 

or sexual abuse (22.1%)

physical abuse

psychological

abuse

5.1% of the 190,592 complaints filed against nursing homes in 2013 

were for abuse, neglect, or exploitationB

Elder Abuse continued

SOURCES

A Ron Acierno et al., “National Elder Mistreatment 

Study,” (U.S. Department of Justice grant report, 

NCJ 226456, March 2009), https://www.ncjrs.gov/

pdffiles1/nij/grants/226456.pdf 

B Administration on Aging, National Ombudsman 

Reporting System Data Table B2, http://www.aoa.

acl.gov/AoA_Programs/Elder_Rights/Ombudsman/

National_State_Data/2013/docs/2013_B-2_NFComp_Full_for_web.xlsm

C “Financial Fraud and Fraud Susceptibility in the 

United States,” (New York: Applied Research & 

Consulting LLC, 2013), http://www.finrafoundation.

org/web/groups/sai/@sai/documents/sai_original_

content/p337731.pdf?utm_source=MM&utm_

medium=email&utm_campaign=Foundation_

News_091213_FINAL

D National Center on Elder Abuse, The Elder Justice 

Roadmap, (Washington, DC: Administration on 

Aging, U.S. Department of Health and Human 

Services, 2014), http://www.ncea.acl.gov/library/

gov_report/docs/ejrp_roadmap.pdf

E ---“Abuse of Residents of Long Term Care 

Facilities” Research Brief, http://www.ncea.aoa.

gov/Resources/Publication/docs/NCEA_LTCF_

ResearchBrief_2013.pdf

F ---”How at Risk for Abuse Are People with 

Dementia?” Research Brief, http://www.ncea.

aoa.gov/Resources/Publication/docs/Dementia_

ResearchBrief_web508.pdf

G ---”Statistics/Data,” http://www.ncea.aoa.gov/

library/data

H Carrie A. Werner, “The Older Population: 2010 

Census Brief,” (Washington, DC: U.S. Census 

Bureau, 2011), http://www.census.gov/prod/

cen2010/briefs/c2010br-09.pdf

1 in 10 people age 60 or older who 

live at home suffer abuse, neglect, or 

exploitation D

People age 65+ are 34% more likely 

to lose money to financial fraud 

than people in their 40s C

Older adults lost $2.9 billion

to financial exploitation in 2009, 

up 12% from the year prior G

Older adults with cognitive impairments

experience 2x the economic losses 

of peers without such incapacities D

50% of nursing home staff admit to physical violence,  mental abuse, or neglect of older patients E

More 

than