Specialized Violence: Elder Abuse

Elder abuse is defined as “the actual, attempted, or threatened physical or serious psychological harm, either deliberate or reckless, of vulnerable older people that is unauthorized and perpetrated by people who are in positions of trust, responsibility, or authority with respect to the vulnerable older people” (Storey, Hart, & Kropp, 2016, p. 6). This definition includes both physical abuse and neglect. Elder abuse varies substantially in form and severity and, as a result, poses unique challenges to law enforcement and other professionals working in this area. This webinar will include a review definitional issues regarding elder abuse as well as a discussion of the prevalence and scope of the problem. In addition, this webinar will review methods for assessing and managing risk for elder abuse perpetration; in particular, this webinar will focus on the use of structured professional judgment guidelines such as the Elder Abuse Risk List (EARL; Storey, Hart, & Kropp, 2016).