Bridget Penhale

Family violence and the caring professions

Foreword O. Stevenson - Acknowledgements - List of Contributors - Introduction: Family Violence: Framing the Issues P. Kingston & B. Penhale - PART 1: CHILD ABUSE - Child Abuse: An Academic Overview C. Hallett - Child Abuse: The Health Perspective S. Wheeler - Social Perspectives in Child Abuse J. Ogg & J. Dickens - PART II: ADULT ABUSE - Domestic Violence: An Overview N. Johnson - Health Professionals and Violence against Women J. Pahl - Social Work and Domestic Violence S. Lloyd - PART III: ELDER ABUSE - Elder Abuse: A Critical Overview C. Phillipson & Simon Biggs - Health Perspectives and Elder Abuse G.C.H. Bennett - Social Perspectives on Elder Abuse P. Kingston & B. Penhale - Conclusion: Similarities, Differences and Synthesis B. Penhale & P. Kingston - Bibliography - Index

Social Perspectives on Elder Abuse

Elder abuse has had something of a chequered history in the United Kingdom. The abuse of older people is not a new phenomenon; indeed, researchers have outlined documentary evidence in the US of the existence of such abuse in earlier times (Steinmetz, 1990; Kosberg, 1983). It is highly likely that similar evidence exists in relation to the UK for the discerning researcher to uncover. What is more problematic, however, is the extent to which, in recent times, the phenomenon of elder abuse has been recognised as a social issue worthy of attention and concern, and by whom. It is these aspects, and the more recent history of the topic, which are perhaps of greater interest and relevance here. The chapter will present the recent history of elder abuse in the UK and then move to a general consideration of the construction of social problems from the available literature. An attempt is made to compare the extent of the ‘fit’ between elder abuse and social problem construction in order to determine whether elder abuse can at present be properly considered to be a social problem in its own right, and the reasons for this situation. Possible future directions are then suggested. The second part of the chapter aims to take some of the issues raised further.

Legal Dimensions and Issues

The previous chapter provided an overview of medical perspectives on elder abuse to give the reader a knowledge and understanding of the dimensions involved. The purpose of this chapter is to present a similar framework in relation to the law and elder abuse. Firstly, a synthesis of the current position with regard to the law and elder abuse will be presented, although a detailed analysis of the existing legislative framework will not be provided as this would be too complex in a generalist book of this type. In the event of the reader requiring more specific information, other documents should be consulted or legal advice sought (see ADSS, 1995, which contains a useful guide as an appendix; also McDonald and Taylor, 1993, and Ashton, 1994, 1995, for more general guides). It is useful to include a synthesis of the current position with regard to the law and elder abuse so that practitioners are aware of the broad nature and scope of legislation that is available and have an understanding of legal issues within this area. The legal provisions that exist in relation to residential care and abuse occurring within institutions will be covered in the following chapter.

Dimensions of Interventions

The last two chapters have developed a focus on differing aspects of the professional knowledge base that are useful for practitioners to be familiar with in their work in this area. The focus of this next chapter is to consider what is known about the differing strategies and techniques of intervention used within situations of abuse. Some of the difficulties associated with intervening in situations of elder abuse will be explored, including, where possible, remedies to these difficulties. Following a discussion concerning the comparative absence of strategies for intervention, there is a shift to examine the existence of different attitudinal sets towards interventions between professionals. Differing models of intervention will also be outlined for the reader.

Dimensions of Family Violence

As documented in the previous chapter, there has been, in recent years, a growing international knowledge and awareness concerning elder abuse. This development to an extent mirrors the development in earlier decades of concern and knowledge about other areas of interpersonal violence, in particular child abuse and domestic violence. The focus of this chapter, therefore, is to consider the similarities and differences between elder abuse and other forms of familial violence. Consideration will also be given to some of the causative factors that are considered to be of importance within the development of situations of familial violence. This will provide valuable contextual information for the reader from which the rest of the book then develops.

Conclusion: Similarities, Differences and Synthesis

This chapter has a number of different but related aims. It is necessary to provide some synthesis of the book as a whole and to present some of the crucial issues for the reader. As a precursor to this, it would seem both necessary and appropriate to consider in some depth the similarities and differences between the different types of family violence. For convenience the principal focus will be on elder abuse and to compare and contrast this with both child abuse and with spouse/adult abuse in more general terms. Some concluding comments are then offered.

Introduction Family Violence: Framing the Issues

Over the past twenty-five years increasing numbers of health and social care professionals have been faced with victims of family violence and abuse, victims from all ages across the life-course. Abuse is suspected, discovered and often proven in a multitude of environments and differing social and institutional circumstances. Abuse may reach the attention of professionals in numerous different ways; sometimes the individual professional suspects abuse and after investigation it is proven. This is probably the case most frequently in the domain of child abuse, and of the three areas considered in this text child abuse clearly has the highest index of suspicion.