Institutional abuse is any type of negligent or abusive conduct, whether physical, sexual or otherwise, that affects someone who is confined in an inpatient facility. The most common victims are children, the elderly, adults with developmental disabilities, and people with mental illness. It usually occurs in hospitals, assisted living situations, and group homes. Many of these institutions have policies in place to prevent institutional abuse, but it is often up to third parties to monitor incidents.
Older people in a long-term care facility are often victims of physical and verbal abuse and neglect. Overbilling and unscrupulous account management allows caregivers to exploit them financially. If the elderly person does not have a family that looks after their interests, they may be subject to long-term institutional abuse. Stress can have serious effects on your health and well-being, and can contribute to premature death.
Hospitalized children are often victims of institutional abuse because they are small and easy to control and intimidate. They usually don't tell anyone when something is wrong and if they are severely disabled they may not have the ability to do so. Adults with mental or developmental problems are often unable to take care of themselves and are not taken seriously when they complain. Sexual exploitation, particularly of women, occurs in facilities where there are no safeguards to prevent it. In group homes and hospital wards where residents are ambulatory, they can abuse each other.
Caregivers become prone to institutional abuse due to stressors in the workplace, such as lack of training or unsuitability for their positions. Overcrowded facilities contribute to stress in the form of increased responsibilities, and institutional workers are often poorly paid. Background checks, if conducted, sometimes fail to catch potential employees with a criminal record or a history of abusive behavior. This leaves patients and residents vulnerable to them. There have been negligence, beatings, robberies and murders.
Anyone with a relative who is in a long-term care facility or group home, under long-term hospitalization, or who has other interactions with caregivers on a regular basis should closely supervise them. Common signs of abuse include unexplained injuries, a change in the loved one's personality, lack of personal items or money from their room or home, and poor physical condition due to neglect. In the United States, all states have ombudsmen, who act as advocates for people in long-term care facilities. Most countries have adopted regulations governing the treatment of people who may be victims of institutional abuse.