World Elder Abuse Awareness Day Takes Place June 15

The ninth annual World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) will be recognized worldwide on June 15.

“As the world population of older people grows, so does the problem of elder abuse,” wrote Kathy Greenlee, head of the Administration for Community Living (ACL), in a blog post on the ACL website.

Greenlee cited a 2010 American Journal of Public Health report which found that one in 10 Americans over the age of 60 had experienced some form of abuse — emotional, physical, or sexual — or neglect in the previous year.

WEAAD was launched in 2006 by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the World Health Organization.

— by Matthew Ozga