Bogoslovska smotra, Vol. 91 No. 1, 2021.
Preliminary communication
https://doi.org/10.53745/bs.91.1.1
How to Protect Elderly Persons? Possibilities of Improving the Social Status of and Preventing Violence Towards Elderly Persons
Danijel Baturina
orcid.org/0000-0002-9063-305X
; Faculty of Law Univerity of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The Croatian society is, just like European societies in general, undoubtedly becoming demographically older. Addressing the needs of elderly persons and improving their status in society is a strategic challenge for social policy, but also for maintaining social cohesion within society. Elderly persons in Croatia are in many ways in an unfavourable position in terms of their financial status, social status, and in terms of care. The purpose of this article is to present what kind of a perspective elderly persons have, as well as opinions of experts on their specific position in society and community, their vulnerability to violence, and possibilities of preventing violence. The article is based on qualitative method of gathering and analysing data, within which focus groups were carried out in five northern Croatian regions. Through an analysis of four top- ics – knowledge of experts on prevalence, types, and sources of violence among elderly persons, characteristics of elderly persons and factors of risk of violence towards them, characteristics of care for elderly persons that can make them vulnerable to violence, prevention and mechanisms for preventing violence towards elderly persons – categories and concepts emerge that were then presented in this article. The discussion situates results within the context of what social policies and other aspects of the society are doing currently and what they could do in the future in order to prevent violence towards elderly persons and build bridges towards their greater social involvement in society. The conclusion offers some proposals for policies and further research, as well as for mapping areas of work.
Keywords
elderly persons; violence towards elderly persons; social care; social policy.
Hrčak ID:
260617
URI
Publication date:
7.2.2021.
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