"As the world prepares to mark World Elder Abuse Awareness Day this Saturday, the UN independent human rights expert mandated with defending the rights of older persons, Rosa Kornfeld-Matte, has stressed that they are often victims of sexual abuse and rape, although it remains rarely detected, reported or exposed.
'The sexual abuse and rape of older persons is a subject rarely discussed, but nevertheless is a reality,' said Ms. Kornfeld-Matte, in a statement issued on Thursday, calling on everyone to “be more attentive and report suspected cases of abuse of older people”.
'Invisible' and 'still taboo,' she noted that, 'with the ageing of our societies, this problem is expected to grow dramatically' and that 'without enough data, statistics and studies, we will not have even an estimate of the dimensions involved.'
The human rights expert explained that one of the challenges of sexual abuse is the perpetuation of the myth that it’s mainly carried out by strangers. 'Sadly, most abusers are family members, relatives or other confidants typically in caring positions,' she emphasized.
Ms. Kornfeld-Matte noted that 'negative stereotypes, such as that older persons aren’t sexual beings, their greater dependency on others, potential divided loyalty to staff members or residents, are unique barriers to reporting, detecting and preventing sexual assault in nursing homes.'"
