According to a comprehensive survey on nursing home and elder abuse, older women are far more likely to suffer from abuse in a care-giving setting than their male counterparts.
The 2004 Survey of Adult Protective Services shows that roughly 2/3 of elder abuse victims are women. At the same time, over half of the perpetrators of elder abuse are also female.
Women are particularly vulnerable to abuse for a variety of reasons. In the United States and around the world, women live longer than men and thus often spend longer periods under the care of someone else than men do. In addition, they often enter a care-giving situation with not only muscle weakness due to age, but smaller physical frames in the first place. As is true for women of all ages, they are at higher risk than men of sexual assault – a shockingly common problem in nursing home facilities.
As for perpetrators, the high number of women involved is probably due to the higher number of women working in care-giving situations – whether as nurses or as the adults providing at-home care to a family member.
Women and men are both victimized by nursing home and elder abuse; and if someone you love has been injured in this inhuman manner, you may be entitled to compensation to help recover. Our Memphis TN nursing home abuse attorneys look carefully at your case and let you know your options. The conversation is free.
Contact us today or call 901-327-1212.