Spotlight on economic abuse - Good Shepherd Youth & Family ...

Economic abuse and elder abuse
Economic abuse of older people has also been identified as a common form of ‘elder abuse’,
which is a concept that is different from, but has a significant overlap with, domestic and
family violence. Elder abuse may be a form of domestic or family violence or it may occur
outside intimate personal and family relationships. The term refers to the harm or neglect of
an older person by a person with whom the older person has a relationship of a kind that
implies trust and/or dependence (ABS 2006; Elder Abuse Prevention Unit, viewed 7 July
2012 at ). Thus, elder abuse perpetrated by a
partner, family member or by an unpaid carer in an informal relationship is a form of
domestic or family violence while the concept also includes abuse in a much wider range of
relationships, including with paid carers and in paid care settings (Office of the Public
Advocate 2010, Queensland Law Society 2010). Outside Australia the term has also been
used to refer to single incidents such as deception or controlling behaviour perpetrated by
strangers; for example salespeople (Straka & Montminy 2006). However, in Australia abuse
or fraud perpetrated by strangers is not usually included in definitions of elder abuse.
In Australia, the majority of abusers of older people (80-90 per cent) have been found to be
close family members (Kurrle 2004, p.809). Several studies have found economic abuse to
be the most common form of reported or suspected elder abuse in family relationships, with
the older person’s adult son or daughter most likely to be the abuser (Bagshaw, Wendt and
Zannettino 2007). Seniors Rights Victoria (2012, p. 5) report that, among older people
approaching their service for information and support relating to abuse, financial abuse is the
most common form and it “most commonly manifests as financial loss arising from the
disposal of an older person’s assets in exchange for their future care and accommodation,
often under pressure from another party”.
The complex social and legal contexts of elder abuse require additional considerations that
are beyond the scope of this paper. These include that abuse often occurs where an elderly
person is vulnerable due to guardianship or power of attorney arrangements, which may be
‘vehicles for financial elder abuse’ (Productivity Commission 2011, p. 454).
Economic abuse, labour exploitation, trafficking and forced labour
The boundaries between economic abuse and other forms of violence and exploitation can
be blurred. While there is very limited evidence that other forms of abuse and exploitation
are common in Australia they may be experienced by some women and there are groups
who are vulnerable to such abuse and exploitation. The most common form may be labour
exploitation, involving employment with pay and conditions that are beneath minimum
regulated standards (Nelms, Nicholson & Wheatley 2011). Women and younger men such
as students and others on temporary visas may be particularly vulnerable to labour
exploitation (Burn et al. 2012). A situation of forced labour exists where a person cannot
leave the work because of threats or force (Burn et al. 2012) and some situations of forced
labour may constitute slavery (Cullen & McSherry 2009). A separate problem is where
women are trafficked to Australia for the purpose of placing them in exploitative or abusive
situations such as into forced prostitution.
While the overlaps between economic abuse and these other forms of abuse and
exploitation are recognised, this paper does not include an examination of this broader
literature. Where labour exploitation occurs within family and intimate partner relationships,
for example where an abusive partner coerces a woman to work in a family enterprise
without any benefit to the woman, this is within the definition of economic abuse used in this
paper. Elsewhere this type of situation could be termed ‘servile marriage’. Servile marriage is
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