The aim of the present article is to attract attention to the pending need of the intensification of the restorative justice application in cases of violence against elderly people within a family. In conclusion, the potentials of the restorative justice approach application in these cases are summarised.
Rather than random victimisation, older adults are more likely to experience abuse and violence from close and proximal relationships. For instance, according to the data of the U. Two thirds of perpetrators are adult children or spouses National Council on Aging, According to a systematic review of 52 studies in 28 countries, the reported prevalence rate of elder abuse in community settings was However, results of a study on the elder abuse incidence rate in New York State indicate that only 1 in 24 cases of elder abuse is reported to authorities with psychological abuse being the most common form of mistreatment Lachs and Berman, Conventional approaches to addressing elder abuse include social service interventions, criminal justice responses, civil litigation, and more recently, multi-disciplinary teams Moore and Browne, ; McNeal and Brown, However, older adults are often reluctant to pursue these remedies, particularly when the person committing the harm is a family member as many older people have complex, interdependent relationships with the people who are harming them Clarke et al.
Therefore, to strengthen the well-being of older adults, addressing these conflicts requires interventions that assure safety, resolve division, and address harmful actions.
Lately, researchers indicate that elder abuse intervention models should have the capacity to work with both older adult victims and alleged harmers, as well as to strengthen relevant relationships and social supports surrounding them individually and as a dyad to address the full scope of risk factors characterising a given case Mosqueda et al. One of the most important characteristic features of restorative justice is greater participation from extended family members that can either support the direct participants or make the transformation of relationships in a family possible.
Restorative justice is more and more often referred to by researchers and practitioners working with elder abuse cases see Groh, ; Groh, ; Holkup et al. Since these outcomes are critical for interdependent relationships where elder abuse victims very often find themselves, restorative justice holds promise for dealing with issues in geriatric contexts and situations.
