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Bullying Among Older Adults: Additional Resources, Part 4 of 4

By Emilee Evans, Legal Intern

October is Domestic Abuse Awareness Month, and this blog series is focused on bullying and seniors. Bullying in nursing homes or long-term care facilities has been the overall theme of these blogs, however bullying among older adults has potential to occur under many other circumstances.  

Other forms of bullying may include:  

  1. Landlords taking advantage of renters, 
  2. Bullying between roommates in a private home,  
  3. Or caregivers (family or a paid nurse).  

The past three posts have discussed in depth reasons behind bullying in long-term care facilities, the ways that residents and nurses can help during these instances, along with more resources that may assist in learning more in order to prevent these situations. This post addresses bullying that can occur outside of assisted living or long term care facilities. 

For help regarding bullying by landlords, knowing your rights as a renter will assist in being able to defend yourself against unfair treatment.  The following links may help in these events:  

Considering bullying between roommates in a private home, these links will address ways to communicate effectively and to resolve other issues: 

For instances of bullying from a caregiver or family member, there are also resources that will identify potential reporting options or other ways to aid in the situation: 

For more information regarding bullying within long-term care facilities, these links will provide additional advice to what the blog has presented thus far: 

Additional, scholarly resources covering each of these sections may be found here:  

http://stopbullyingcoalition.org/links01 

The health and safety of all persons is a significant consideration especially as a person ages and becomes more vulnerable. These blogs have been written in hopes of providing the needed resources and information so that if you or a loved one falls victim to bullying, you may be able to get the help you need. Although bullying has been thought of as an issue among adolescents, it is becoming obvious that the issue is prevalent among older adults.  Bullying is caused by pain, a lack of confidence, a need for power, sometimes by disability, and also may be a common result of communal living.  In light of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we at ELM hope these blogs may provide more insight into the issue of bullying among older adults along with resources to provide help and more information.

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