Elder abuse in Europe's "most elderly" city: an update of the phenomenon based on the cases reported to the Penal Court of Genoa from 2015 to 2019 and literature review

Abstract

Background: Elder abuse is currently a worldwide problem. The literature reports that one elderly person out of six is a potential victim.

Aims: To analyse cases reported to the judicial authorities in the territory of Genoa in the period 2010-2019, to investigate the features of elder abuse, to assess the trend of this phenomenon and to propose preventive strategies.

Methods: We analysed the data on reports of abuse passed by the Court of Genoa in the period 2015-2019 concerning physical and mental maltreatment, abandonment and financial exploitation of elderly subjects. These data were compared with those recorded in the previous 5-year period and in the literature.

Results: In the period 2015-2019, 156 cases of elder abuse were identified (versus 63 in the previous period): 18 cases of domestic violence, 5 cases of abuse of the means of correction, 18 cases of caregiver neglect, 76 cases of physical injury and 39 cases of financial exploitation.

Discussion: Abuse was seen to be perpetrated most frequently in the domestic setting and by the victims' relatives. The main risk factors were female gender and the victim's dependence on others, the maltreating subject's mental illness and substance abuse.

Conclusions: We documented a progressive increase in the number of abuses reported to the judicial authority; this reflects greater awareness of the problem. However, our figures remained well below the incidence estimated in the literature. It is necessary to train healthcare personnel to identify and manage cases of suspected abuse, and to provide adequate support in situations at risk.

Keywords: Ageism; Domestic violence; Elder abuse; Personal injury; Prosecutor’s office; Sentence.