Elder Abuse in the LGBT Community

Abstract

Though a great deal has been written about elder abuse in the mainstream population, most of it has failed to consider how, how often, and how differently, abuse manifests in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community; moreover, specific studies of elder abuse in the LGBT community are ‘practically non-existent’ (Cook-Daniels 2017, p. 543). These deficits are all the more troubling in light of Harrison and Rigg’s (2006) suggestion that elder abuse is one of the most urgent issues to be addressed in the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and intersex population. Clearly, we don’t know enough about LGBT elder abuse, but what we do know is that any differences between LGBT elder abuse and elder abuse in the general population have been predicated and generated (at least partially) by the cultural context in which they have emerged. In this chapter, we discuss some of the cultural differences and social perspectives that have influenced the LGBT population and consider how these might impact research, outreach, and initiatives designed to address the issue.