If you need to talk to someone about suspected abuse of an elder, click here . When an person age 60 or older is subjected to any of these types of abuse or neglect, it is elder abuse.
Physical abuse is the willful infliction of physical pain, injury or unreasonable confinement.
It includes, but is not limited to, beating, choking or burning, inappropriate medication or tying or locking a person up. It also includes sexual abuse , which occurs when a person has been forced, tricked, threatened or otherwise coerced into sexual contact against one's will. Material abuse , sometimes called financial exploitation , is the misuse of an elder's money or property. It includes deception, diverting income, mismanagement of funds and taking money or possessions against a person's will. Self-neglect means a significant danger to an elder person's physical or mental health because the elder person is unable or fails to provide adequate food, shelter, clothing, medical or dental care.