Lucia Silecchia, professor, law, published commentary in Crux on the United Nations World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day has been designated by the United Nations as an occasion to focus international attention on abuse of the elderly - abuse that, in its many forms, is estimated to affect 10 percent of the rapidly-growing population over the age of 65.
Observed every year on June 15, this day prompts discussion of the ways in which our legal and political structures and the human rights framework can better respond to the often hidden ways in which the elderly suffer at the hands of those who, all too frequently, can be their own family and friends.
As valuable as this discussion may be, however, elder abuse is a symptom of something far beyond what the law can address on its own. ...
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