Women Self Defense

Every year, thousands of older people are the victims of some form of abuse. Almost 70% of callers to most of ‘Elder Abuse’ hotline/ helpline reported abuse within the home, and around 75% of the perpetrators of abuse were family members or paid care providers.

Here are some tips on how to recognize elder abuse and what to do to stop it.

What Constitutes Abuse?

Elder abuse is generally divided into four main categories, each of which has different signs:

(1) Physical Abuse

Along with hitting, pushing, shaking, burning or kicking, this also includes sexual abuse, the inappropriate use of drugs and force feeding. Injuries may be visible on the victim. And they may feel unable to offer explanations for injuries or may try to make excuses.

(2) Neglect

This happen when the care provider/ family member fails to provide adequate food, shelter, clothing, hygiene, medical treatment or other basis necessities to older people.

Symptoms include malnourishment, dehydration, hazardous or unsafe living conditions, inadequate clothing, bedsores, lice, a smell of urine or faeces, overmedication, sedation or untreated health problems.

(3) Psychological Abuse

This is infliction of emotional or mental anguish and includes insults, harassment, humiliation, intimidation or threats. Other types of emotional abuse include isolation or treating an older person like a child.

A victim of this may appear upset, agitated, depressed, withdrawn or non-communicative. The victim may avoid eye contact, be evasive or show signs of dementia, such as rocking or sucking.

(4) Financial Exploitation

This happens when somebody illegally or improperly uses an older person’s funds or assets, usually for his own benefit. It can include theft of money and possessions, forgery, improperly cashing cheques and coercion or deception, when somebody illegally or improperly uses an older person’s funds or assets, usually for his own benefit. It can include theft of money and possessions, forgery, improperly cashing cheques and coercion or deception, perhaps to get an older person to sign a contract or will.

Signs of this might be unusual withdrawals or transfers of money; sudden change of wills; bills and rent unpaid without explanation; and poor clothing and housing when the older person can afford better.

What To Do When Abuse Is Suspected?

An older people may be reluctant to report abuse, particularly if it is being committed by a family member. She may be embarrassed that it is happening or too scared to mention it.

If you know anyone who is showing any of the above symptoms or has told you that she is being abused, seek help. Be wary of accusing anyone directly, as this may make the situation worse. If you can speak to the older person in private, try to persuade her to report the abuse. If you cannot do this, report what you suspect to social services. If there is immediate danger to the victim, however, simply call the police.

This post is for all the lonely elderly people and parents specially for Father’s Day 2009. A lot of children will be arranging some kind of celebrations for their elderly. In my opinion, sometimes it can be as simple as just a ‘caring’ phone call and even a simple home cook meal with love’ is sufficient enough to show our cares to the elderly.

To Parents With Love – from all our hearts!

Happy Father’s Day!!!

Older people are a favorite target of con artists because they are often trusting and unaware. As a result, victims may be robbed of their life savings and any sense of security they had.

Unfortunately, incidents often go unreported due to the victims are embarrassed or feel that it is their fault.

Con artists are experts in persuasion and may try many times before they achieve success. To be protected, elderly should be aware of the schemes.

Con artists will try to contact older people in various different ways – by phone, knocking on the door or by post. No matter which approach they use, at the root of all schemes will be an attempt to persuade older people to give, spend or ‘invest’ money for little or no return. Deals that sounds too good to be true usually are.

Here are some scams to watch for:

1. Prizes and Special Offers

The news of winning a fabulous prize should be greeted with suspicious, especially if money needs to be sent to cover minor expenses.

Watch out for prizes offered to entice people to buy a product or service – there should be no purchase necessary to win. Some con artists even send a courier to pick up money, which is never seen again. And the prize is then worth less than the money lost.

2. Charity Donations

Whether by phone, arrive on your doorstep, or put an envelope in your letterbox, groups that ask for a donation should be thoroughly researched first. Ask to be sent a financially reports; reputable charities will always be happy and willing to send one when asked.

3. Investments

‘Get-rich-quick’ schemes always have a catch. A pyramid scheme is a classic example. In this somebody will ask for an investment of money – perhaps in a small company – for which the investor is guaranteed a good return. Others are encouraged to invest and with each person persuaded comes a share of that investment. However, such schemes collapse when people fail to find enough investors or when the con man suddenly gets caught.

4. Credit and Loans

These might be offered by some companies in return for a ‘small’ upfront fee. But don’t give up any money – legitimate companies will not ask for payment in advance of a loan.

5. Credit Card Numbers

Somebody pretending to be from a bank, credit card company or police station might call or visit and say that he needs help tracking down a criminal. Then he will ask for bank account details, a credit card number. If that person were really investigating a crime, he would have access to that information.

6. Repair People

Be wary of callers from utilities companies who turn up without warning. Genuine callers from gas or electricity companies will be able to quote your account or meter number, and if you are unsure, they won’t mind waiting while you check their details with the company.

Be wary of repair people touting for business. Some might offer to do a simple job at a very cheap price, but later ‘discover’ a much bigger problem that needs to be fixed and that will cost a lot more. When looking for a repair person, try to deal with a reputable firm. Don’t pay for any work until it has been satisfactory completed. If paying by cash, always get a receipt.

7. Health Products

‘Miracle’ products that help to prevent baldness, lose weight or build muscles may entice some people, but many of these don’t work and they may even be damaging to a person’s health.

8. Work From Home

Many newspaper, posters and leaflets advertise jobs that people can do at home to earn money quickly. But to get started, they need to buy supplies or take a course first. If they send in money, they are unlikely to get much return – at least nothing that will help them to earn a living.

Report Any Incident

Con artists manage to catch intelligent people of all walks of life, so older family members should not be embarrassed if they think that they may have been victimized. Don’t try to get the money back by using a company that claims to be able to recover lost funds – it may be just another tricks.

Report the incident to the police or contact a consumer protection group for advice. This may help to catch the criminals and prevent future scams.

Living alone/ staying home alone and health problems can make older people feel more at risk of becoming a crime or accident victim.

Many people worry that as they get older they will become less able to defend themselves and their property from theft and attack. Recent statistics show however, that people over 65 years old experienced less violence and fewer property crimes than younger people.

The risks are greater, though, that older people will be targeted for telemarketing tricks or ‘get-rich-quick’ schemes. The following tips show how older people can safeguard their homes and avoid such games, so that they do not feel so vulnerable at home.

Make A Home Secure

Most crime against older people occur in or near the home. But home security can be improved by using certain devices, practising caution with strangers and getting support from the community. The crime prevention officer at your local police station may be available to view the premises and give advice on any extra security measures needed.

Be Wary of Strangers

Many thieves gain entry to older people’s homes by pretending to be salespeople, repair people or charity collectors. Many accept lines such as: ’We are checking for a gas leak’; or ‘There’s a problem with your phone line and we need to check it.’ Instead, they should use their peephole and ask for photo ID so that the person’s name and company can be read. Then they should contact the company to make sure that the call is legitimate – if it is, the employee will understand the delay.

Older people should arrange for repair or delivery people to arrive at a specific time and should never let a stranger know if they are in the house alone.

Older people should also be wary of anybody who keep them talking at their door or in the garden; he may be distracting them while an accomplice breaks into the house.

If a stranger asks to make telephone call from the house, an older people should ask the stranger to wait outside while she makes the call, even in emergency.

If a stranger won’t leave, the homeowner should call the police immediately. If the stranger is already in the house, however, he shouldn’t be prevented for leaving. Go to a neighbour’s house and call the police from there instead.

Finally, nuisance calls from telemarketers can be screened using the answering machine. Friendly and family should be told to speak up on the machine so that their calls will be picked up when recognized.

Be Part of the Community

One of the main reasons that thieves target older people is that they are more likely to be isolated, perhaps because they live alone or staying home alone or can’t get to the phone easily. So older people should encourage friends or relatives to visit each day and get to know their neighbours so that they can look out for each other. They should get involved in a neighbourhood watch scheme or crime prevention support group – go to the local police station for information.