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What is elder abuse?
Typically, elder abuse is defined as various types of abuse against someone age 60 or 65 and older. The types of abuse may include: physical, sexual, and emotional abuse; financial exploitation; neglect and abandonment. Domestic and sexual abuse in later life are a subset of elder abuse.

What is domestic abuse?
Domestic abuse is a pattern of coercive tactics that abusers use to gain and maintain power and control over their victims. Forms of domestic violence include, but are not limited to, physical, sexual and emotional abuse. Abusers believe they are entitled to use any method necessary to control their victims.

What is abuse in later life?
At the National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life (NCALL), abuse in later life has several components. The victims are age 50 or older and are primarily women, but could be men. Someone, who has an ongoing, trusting relationship with the victim perpetrates the abuse. The abuser can be a spouse/partner, an adult child or grandchild, another family member or a caregiver. The abuse can be physical, including sexual abuse, emotional, verbal and financial-and is often a combination of one or more of these types of abuse. The location of the abuse is wherever the victim lives, which can be either in the community or in a facility setting.
View a one-page pdf document excerpted from our curriculum "From a Web of Fear." What is abuse in later life?

What is sexual abuse in later life?
Sexual abuse in later life is defined as non-consensual sexual contact of any kind with an elderly person. Sexual contact with any person incapable of giving consent is also considered sexual abuse. It includes, but is not limited to, unwanted touching, all types of sexual assault or battery, and sexually explicit photographing. Abusers can be spouses/partners, adult children (especially sons), family members, caregivers, strangers or someone in a position of power. In facility settings, perpetrators may also be other residents. Service providers working with older victims often overlook sexual abuse.

for another definition see this pdf document:
who.int/hpr/ageing/TorontoDeclarationEnglish.pdf

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