amily members. The abuse results in suffering, injury, pain, violation of human rights, and a decreased quality of life. The moral quality of a nation, and of an individual, may be measured by how the very youngest and eldest people are treated. Insufficient laws or resources and uncaring or cruel caregivers are indicative of a lack of ethics and morality in a society, and represent a serious social problem. Ethical conduct consists of right conduct and actions, and doing harm or doing nothing may be viewed as wrong conduct. As this paper will indicate, a lack of right conduct and ethical behavior is at the core of elder abuse.
According to a 2003 report, "Elder Mistreatment: Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation in an Aging America," published by the Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT), "elder mistreatment is a recognized social problem of uncertain, though probably increasing magnitude." The responsibility for addressing elder care, however, most often falls to family members of the affected persons. Providing adequate care for the elderly is a growing problem in all parts of the world. While some countries, such as Sweden and Germany, have formulated and implemented effective programs to deal with this problem, other countries such as the United States have yet to come up with an adequate solution that will protect the elderly from various forms of abuse, and enable them to live out their lives in safety and dignity. It may be said that at this point in time, the U.S. government, at all levels, has not demonstrated right action for its aged population in terms of prevention programs. This is a serious problem because, as the CNSTAT report (2003) points out, "the frequency of occurrence of elder mistreatment will undoubtedly increase over the next several decades, as the population ages. Yet little is known about its characteristics, causes, or consequences or about effective means of prevention" (p. 15).
The government is not...