IACHR: States Must Protect Older People from All Forms of Violence

June 14, 2024

Washington, D.C.- On the occasion of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) calls on the region’s states to guarantee the right of older persons to live their lives free from all forms of violence. States must guarantee and ensure that older people’s rights to physical and mental integrity and health are protected in their homes and medical and care facilities.  

The IACHR has recognized that prejudices and negative stereotypes about older persons, based on their alleged cognitive impairment, health status, dependence, and lack of autonomy and productive social value, place them at high risk of becoming victims of violence. The risk of experiencing violence is sometimes heightened by people belonging to groups that have historically suffered discrimination, such as older women, older LGBTIQ+ people, or older migrants. Physical violence is not the only type of violence experienced by older people. Verbal abuse or the use of derogatory language, whether in person or online, affects the physical and mental health of older people, as the United Nations Independent Expert on the Enjoyment of All Human Rights by Older Persons has acknowledged. 

In “Human Rights of the Elderly and National Protection Systems in the Americas,” the IACHR noted that stereotypes and prejudices pervade older people’s relationships with their families and society at large. This may translate into acts of violence in the places where they receive care and medical attention, in which relationships may emerge that are characterized by an imbalance of power between the caregiver and the person receiving care, who is in a subordinate position.  

The IACHR calls on States to immediately correct these distortions and asymmetries by implementing care systems that promote the exercise of autonomy and independent living, guided by the paradigm of dignified aging. It also encourages States to eradicate the permanent, coercive, and dependent nature of the unnecessary institutionalization of older people and promote respect for their healthcare choices. States should also take concrete measures to prevent, investigate, punish, and remedy human rights violations that occur in the context of medical or care services.   

The Inter-American Convention on Protecting the Human Rights of Older Persons establishes older people’s right to safety and a life free from violence and abuse, to be treated with dignity, and to be respected and valued without discrimination. The convention also stipulates that services and care systems for older people must protect and promote their physical and mental health, particularly when there are greater restrictions on their autonomy, as may be the case in long-term or palliative care. It also emphasizes older people’s right to mental health, given that psychological and emotional mistreatment is the most common form of abuse experienced by older people, as the United Nations independent expert has noted. 

Several States in the region have adopted policies on older people, some of which cover domestic violence or the general protection of older people, recognizing their rights to safety, not to be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment or punishment, and to live free from violence. The IACHR has emphasized the importance of government programs that allow for the quick and easy reporting of acts of violence, systems of preventive protection and shelter options, and multidimensional protection strategies.  

The IACHR reiterates that it is essential to develop strategies to eliminate the causes that often lead to the nonreporting of violence and abuse and perpetuate the cycle of violence to which older people are subjected. It urges States to conduct studies to determine the reasons for nonreporting of this violence, such as fear of reprisals, lack of knowledge of older people’s rights, asymmetrical relationships of economic dependence, lack of protective measures against the aggressor, and lack of access and support facilities at the time of reporting, among other things.

A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for and to defend human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 139/24

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