Sexual Abuse

Sad Woman in Wheelchair

Unfortunately, elderly nursing home residents are easy prey for sexual predators because they are often weak and defenseless. They may also fall victim to sexual abuse because they had a stroke or other medical condition that caused them to lose their speech or motor skills. When a nursing home resident is weak and unable to resist or unable to speak, the likelihood of becoming a victim of sexual abuse increases. The most recent statistics from the United States Administration on Aging reveal that there were 548 complaints of sexual abuse in nursing homes between October 1, 1995 and September 30, 1996.

Sexual abuse is any form of nonconsensual sexual contact, including unwanted or inappropriate touching, rape, sodomy, sexual coercion, sexually-explicit photographing, and sexual harassment. It would include situations where the nursing home resident was forced, coerced, tricked, or manipulated into unwanted sexual contact and where the nursing home resident is too ill, frail, or mentally incapacitated to give consent. A nursing home resident can be sexually abused by a nursing home staff member, another resident, a stranger, or a family member in a variety of situations, including:

Sexual abuse by a nursing home staff member. Sexual abuse of a nursing home resident by a staff member often occurs because the nursing home fails to conduct background investigations of potential employees. Many staff members, particularly nurse’s aides, are minimum-wage employees who go from one job to the next. Nurse’s aides also have the most contact with nursing home residents and are responsible for a variety of tasks, including helping residents bathe, dress, and toilet, which may create the opportunity for sexual abuse. Some of these aides may have been terminated from previous jobs because they abused a nursing home resident at another facility and some may have criminal records.
When a nursing home fails to properly screen an employee who has a history of sexual abuse and that employee sexually abuses a resident, the nursing home can be liable for negligence. Sexual abuse by a staff member can also occur because the nursing home fails to properly supervise employees. This may result from understaffing or poor training. When a nursing home fails to properly supervise employees or properly train employees on how to spot sexual abuse and sexual abuse occurs, the nursing home can be liable for negligence.

Sexual abuse by another resident. Oftentimes, nursing homes are co-ed. In such settings, normal male-female relationships are bound to develop. Unfortunately, however, co-ed settings in nursing homes can give rise to the sexual abuse of one resident by another. Those residents who are weak and unable to resist or unable to speak may be an easy target for sexual abuse by another resident who knows of the potential victim’s mental or physical challenges. Sexual abuse by another resident may occur because the nursing home fails to properly supervise residents. This can result from understaffing or poor training. When a nursing home fails to properly supervise residents and properly train employees on how to spot sexual abuse by residents and sexual abuse occurs, the nursing home may be liable for negligence.

Sexual abuse by a stranger. Sexual abuse by a stranger often occurs because the nursing home lacks adequate security which allows strangers to enter the facility. Strangers can also enter the facility when nursing home employees step outside to take a break or smoke and negligently fail to lock the door when they re-enter. If a nursing home resident is sexually abused by a stranger who gains access to the facility under these circumstances, the nursing home may be liable for negligence.

Sexual abuse by a family member. When a person is placed in a nursing home, the resident’s spouse may miss the relationship the two shared when they were at home. When the resident’s mental or physical condition prohibits consensual sexual relations between spouses, the sexual act may rise to the level of sexual abuse. In these situations, nursing home staff members may fail to report the incident because of the legal relationship between the couple, therefore, and permit the abuse to continue. Under these circumstances, the nursing home may be liable for negligence.

Tips to prevent sexual abuse injuries

The following signs may indicate that your loved one is the victim of sexual abuse in a nursing home:

Unexplained difficulty with walking or sitting
Bruising and/or thumbprints on the inner thighs, genital area, buttocks, and/or breasts
Unexplained vaginal and/or anal bleeding
Unexplained sexually transmitted disease or genital infection
Unexplained genital irritation, injury, and/or redness
Presence of sperm in the vagina or anus
Torn, stained, or bloody underclothing
Stained or bloody sheets
Rope burns on wrists or ankles
Fear, stress, anxiety, or a combative reaction when a particular staff member approaches to help the resident with bathing, dressing, or toileting

If your loved one exhibits any of the above signs, you should

Calmly but firmly express your concerns to your loved on. If your loved one tells you that he or she was the victim of sexual abuse, immediately report the incident to the police and get emergency medical help. Oftentimes, however, elderly people are afraid or embarrassed to admit that they were the victim of sexual abuse; and others may be too physically or mentally impaired to communicate the incident. In these situations, if you believe the warning signs are severe enough, call police and get your loved one to the emergency room of a hospital as soon as possible.

If your suspicions don’t warrant immediate police intervention or emergency medical treatment, report the incident to the nursing home administrator and discuss your observations with your loved one’s doctor. Then monitor the situation. If the warning signs persist, you should contact authorities.

Legal evaluation of physical, mental, or sexual abuse claims

Neglect is defined as failure to provide goods and services necessary to avoid physical harm, mental anguish, or mental illness. Neglect occurs on an individual basis when a resident does not receive appropriate care based on their individualized needs.

Abuse is defined as the willful infliction of injury, unreasonable confinement, intimidation, or punishment with resulting physical harm or pain or mental anguish, or deprivation by an individual, including a care taker, of goods or services that are necessary to attain or maintain physical, mental, and psycho-social well-being.

Federal and state law have regulations that set forth that a resident in a nursing home has the right to be free from verbal, sexual, physical and mental abuse as well as involuntary seclusion.

There are also federal and state regulations that are aimed to prevent employment of individuals who have been convicted of abusing, neglecting, or mistreating individuals in a health care related setting. Nursing homes have a duty to be thorough in their investigations of the past histories of individuals they are considering hiring. The facility should do a record check with the Pennsylvania State Licensing Division and also check the State Nurse’s Aide Registry.

In evaluating a claim of abuse or neglect, we will investigate the nursing home to see if:

A proper background check was performed.
The home was aware of any previous incident of neglect or abuse by the nurses aide, staff member, or even another resident of the home.

When a nursing home becomes aware of a violation of the law involving mistreatment, neglect or abuse, the incident must be reported to the administrator of the nursing home and to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The nursing home must have evidence that all alleged violations are thoroughly investigated and that the home has policies and procedures regarding investigation of injuries suffered by residents.