Judith Davey and Jayne McKendry

There is no single internationally accepted definition of elder abuse.  This inhibits meaningful comparison of data.  New Zealand generally uses the definition adopted by the World Health Organisation:

 “A single or repeated act or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust, which causes harm or distress to an older person”.

Within this definition, financial elder abuse (FEA) is defined as the “illegal or improper exploitation or use of funds or resources of the older person” (Wolf, Daichman and Bennett, 2002, p. 127).

This working paper is linked to a workshop hosted by the Institute of Policy Studies, Victoria University of Wellington, in June 2011.  Following discussion of definitional issues and exploration of what we know about FEA, we identify strategies to prevent and reduce FEA in New Zealand.  Our purpose is to promote discussion and development of policies which ensure a multi-faceted response to this issue.  This will help to ensure that older people are free from elder abuse in all its forms.