Perception of elder abuse

Svrha provedenog istraživanja bila je otkrivanje mišljenja starijih osoba o temi nasilja nad starijim osoba čime bi se proširile spoznaje o navedenom fenomenu. Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je dobivanje uvida u percepciju nasilja nad starijima iz perspektive starijih osoba, pri čemu je ispitivano njihovo mišljenje o tome što dovodi do pojave samog nasilja, koje okolnosti doprinose neprijavljivanju nasilja te što bi moglo pridonijeti prevenciji nasilja nad starijima. Provedeno je kvalitativno istraživanje u kojem je sudjelovalo 10 ispitanica ženskog spola koje su navršile 65 ili više godina. Sudionice su ispitane putem polustrukturiranog intervjua, a rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da starije ženske osobe smatraju da su glavni faktori koji dovode do pojave nasilje nad starijima financijsko iskorištavanje starije osobe, pad funkcija u starijoj dobi te međugeneracijski jaz. Okolnosti koje doprinose neprijavljivanju nasilja nad starijim osobama uključuju strah od posljedica prijavljivanja, neučinkovitost institucija, needuciranost starijih osoba te osjećaj srama. Također, kao načine prevencije nasilja nad starijim osobama navode izbjegavanje nasilja, potrebu za državnom intervencijom, prijavljivanje nasilja nadležnim tijelima te educiranje svih osoba o nasilju nad starijim osobama. Ono što ovo istraživanje pokazuje jest da je potrebno uključiti i perspektivu starijih u izučavanje fenomena nasilja nad starijim osobama kako bi mjere koje se kreiraju u svrhu smanjenja stopa nasilja nad starijima bile što učinkovitije.The purpose of this study was the detection of elder people views on the topic of elder abuse which could lead to extending knowledge about the mentioned phenomenon. The aim of this study was getting insight in the perception of elder abuse but from the elderly’s perspective. The elderly were questioned about what they think the main causes of elder abuse were, which circumstances lead to not reporting the abuse and what could help to prevent the abuse. A qualitative research was carried out in which 10 females, who were 65 or more years old, participated. The interview was semi-structured and the results showed that older females think that the main causes of elder abuse are financial exploitation of older people, drop of functions in older age and intergenerational gap. Circumstances which lead to not reporting the elder abuse include fear from consequence after reporting, ineffectiveness of institutions, lack of education and shame. Also, older females think that, in order to avoid elder abuse, the government should do more, elder abuse should be reported to authorities and every person should be educated about elder abuse. This study shows that the perspective of older people should be included in the studies about elder abuse and also in the process of creating the prevention strategies that are made for reducing the rate of elder abuse