Thousands of aged 'suffered abuse'

The UK Study of Abuse and Neglect report, which comes a day before International Elder Abuse Awareness day, found 342,000 older people have been victims of abuse, ranging from financial fraud to emotional abuse and even assault.

The report also said 105,000 people had suffered 10 or more separate instances of neglect.

The figures, compiled over two years by independent researchers at the National Centre for Social Research and Kings College, London, are based on a survey of 2,000 people who live in their own homes.

The majority of abusers, 53%, were living in the respondent's house at the time of the abuse.

Of those, 65% of perpetrators were recorded as having committed "interpersonal" abuse, meaning physical, psychological or sexual abuse was cited.

Liberal Democrat MP Paul Burstow, who will table an Early Day Motion on Thursday calling for the Government to introduce specific legal protections for older people, has said the omission of dementia sufferers and care home residents from the report means its findings are "only the tip of the iceberg".

He said his Protection of Adults in Care (Prevention of Harm and Exploitation) Bill will oblige local authorities to investigate suspected abuse and give them power to impose protection orders to safeguard those at risk.

"We urgently need to move from a system of voluntary guidance to one with legal protections for vulnerable people," he said.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said the reason the report did not include people in care is that researchers specifically wanted to look at abuse in a domestic setting, and that the findings provide the Government "with an opportunity to understand the prevalence of abuse in the UK".