Lavon says that he is most disturbed by what he terms "institutional abuse" by official bodies. "The message that the state gives is that the elderly are superfluous and people can do what they want to them," he emphasizes. "For example, if an elderly person needs a nursing home and can pay NIS 15,000 to NIS 17,000 a month, he can go to a private facility. If he is indigent and doesn't own an apartment, the state will put him in a public nursing home, take 80% of his elderly allowance from the National Insurance Institute (NII) and foot the bill for the rest.
"But if he is not indigent, not rich, owns an apartment and has working children, then there is a problem. His apartment must be sold and the money used toward his upkeep in the nursing home. Moreover, his children will be forced to pay, in accordance with their income, toward his upkeep. This is where the abuse comes in," Lavon explains.
"The family is in crisis. Instead of the state helping, it violently sticks its hands into the family's pocketbook, forcing members to choose between the elderly parent's needs and those of the children and grandchildren. There are elderly who should be in nursing homes but are not because of this law. We think that the law should include nursing home care in the basket of health services irrespective of income," he says.
Sraya Sharabi, managing director of Ezrat Avot, a community-based facility that offers social, cultural, educational and health programs and services to the elderly poor in Jerusalem's Nahalat Zvi neighborhood, thinks that bureaucratic abuse is the most common problem the elderly face.
"The government and the media have started to deal with the problem of elder abuse but they take it to the extreme and do not look at the real problem," Sharabi says. "The biggest problem is the bureaucracy. Just trying to do the most basic things is what makes the lives of the elderly miserable. We constantly see elderly who tell us how they had to spend their entire day waiting in line for this or that service."
He cites the fact that the elderly are forced to wait in lines at the health funds, NII, banks, government offices and other public institutions, along with 20-year-olds. "There should be designated lines and services for them. By treating them just like everyone else we are abusing them. They need special treatment because they can't run around so much," says Sharabi.
"If the government would focus on creating special services for the elderly and cutting the bureaucracy, so that getting things done would be less demanding on them, it would make their lives easier and more pleasant."
Yad Riva - Legal Aid for the Elderly has set up a special service to provide help for elderly victims of abuse. The service, staffed by volunteer lawyers and other professionals, offers legal advice concerning the victim's rights and represents the victim in court. It also organizes lectures for the elderly on what is abuse and what can be done.
"Elder abuse is very difficult to prevent, especially when children are involved," states Mickey Schindler, a Yad Riva lawyer. "Most of our cases involve emotional and economic abuse by a family member. Elder abuse has many unique characteristics due to the victim's health, ambivalent attitude toward the abusing family member, etc. That is why we have a multidisciplinary team including not only lawyers but also social workers and doctors who work with us. The problem needs to be addressed by a multidisciplinary effort."
