Jamaica facing elderly abuse crisis

A disturbing wave of elder abuse appears to be taking root in Jamaica, prompting the National Council for Senior Citizens (NCSC) to sound the alarm and call for urgent national action.

Chair of the NCSC, Dr Julian McKoy-Davis, revealed that 134 cases of elder abuse were formally reported between 2019 and 2024.

"I honestly believe that this is not a true reflection of the reality, because there are many older adults who would never report a situation of abuse in their family," she said.

McKoy-Davis was speaking at an Elder Abuse Awareness Seminar held last Friday, at the Stella Maris Catholic Church in St. Andrew.

Disturbingly, 57 per cent of reported abusers are family members, while 31 per cent are caregivers--those charged with protecting Jamaica's most vulnerable citizens.

McKoy-Davis said that the three most frequently reported forms of elder abuse are financial exploitation (32 per cent), neglect and abandonment (29 per cent), and physical abuse (19 per cent).

The NCSC chair outlined several factors that heighten the vulnerability of elderly individuals to abuse, chief among them being poverty.

"Poverty is a serious issue that puts persons at risk of being dependent on others; and becoming dependent puts you at risk because you are technically at their mercies. This is not going to happen in every case, but it sometimes happens," she said.

And she warned that financial status does not protect anyone from abuse.

"It does not mean that it's only poor people that face abuse. Some rich people face abuse as well, and we need to be mindful of those because those sometimes go under the [radar] and we [may] not [be] as mindful that persons who are wealthy are actually at risk as well of being abused, of being exploited, of being taken advantage of," McKoy-Davis said.

Jamaica's older adult population--aged 60 and above--is the fastest-growing demographic, currently making up approximately 13 per cent of the populace.