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Abuse of Seniors is A Common
Occurence
Darling Gora, a 64 year old
American woman was brutally
murdered in an Alajuela hotel
over the weekend. She had
several blows to her body which
caused the death at the hands of
her 34 year old son.
According to experts, these
types of aggressions against the
elderly are a common thing in
Costa Rica. "For the year 2004
we had an average of 2 cases
daily, while this year the
average is now 3 cases of
seniors who are abused,
mistreated and ostracized..."
explained Dr. Morales, director
of the Blanco Cervantes
hospital.
According to Dr. Morales,
psychological and patrimonial
aggression are the most
frequent, followed in third
place by physical aggression.
Based on data that the hospital
has, close family members of
seniors are the principal
aggressors. And although the
hospital Blanco Cervantes sees
an average of three cases daily
or 1000 per year, Dr. Morales
says that number of aggressions
against seniors is much higher
than that and never reported.
"We are convinced that the
number of unreported incidents
is much, much higher that what
we get coming to the hospital",
assured the doctor.
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