Violence against the elderly grows 38% in Brazil; experts warn

When talking about violence against elderly people, the most common image tends to be that of physical aggression or abandonment. But experts warn of a much more frequent and difficult to identify reality: violence that happens silently, often at home, carried out precisely by those who should offer protection.

It can appear when children start to control their parents' money without authorization, pressure them to sign documents, decide on medical treatments without consulting the elderly person, prevent them from interacting with friends and family or simply fail to consider their opinion in decisions that concern their own lives.

Numbers help to size the problem. Data from the National Human Rights Ombudsman's Office show that, in the first months of 2025 alone, Brazil registered more than 65 thousand reports of violence against elderly people, an increase of 38% compared to the same period of the previous year. Among the most frequent cases are neglect, abandonment, psychological violence, financial exploitation and abuse committed within the family environment.

For the vice-president of Supera, a Brazilian cognitive stimulation educational company, Bárbara Perpétuo, the challenge begins precisely when society associates aging with the automatic loss of capacity.

"When we talk about violence against the elderly, we are not just talking about physical violence. There is also violence against property, violence against autonomy, against independence and even legal violence. Quality information is one of the main tools for people to be able to protect themselves", he states.

According to her, invisible violence tends to increase as the elderly person stops being seen as the protagonist of their own story. Small decisions start to be made by third parties until, little by little, autonomy disappears.

"We need to understand that preserving autonomy is also part of care. Aging should not be confused with disability", he emphasizes.

This perception is reinforced by lawyer Alexsandra Manoel Garcia, specialist in Family and Succession Law. For her, one of the most common misconceptions is believing that reaching a certain age means automatically losing the ability to manage your own life.

"There is no age in Brazilian legislation that makes someone incapable of deciding about their assets or their life. A person aged 80 or 90, as long as they have discernment, can sell a property, manage their assets and make decisions without authorization from their children or the Court", he explains.

The expert highlights that civil capacity can only be limited through a court decision, after a technical assessment that proves the inability to express one's will. Still, the measure must respect specific limits.

"The guardianship exists to protect, never to take away rights indiscriminately. Today it has defined limits and must only meet the real needs of that person", he states.

Although the best-known cases involve physical attacks, experts warn that property violence has become one of the fastest growing forms of violence in the country. In many episodes, family members use pensions, take out loans, operate bank accounts or manage assets without the elderly person understanding what is happening.

There are situations in which children start to live in their parents' house under the justification of offering care, but, little by little, they take control of the property, restrict spaces, alienate other family members and transform the owner into someone without a voice within their own home.

There are also frequent episodes in which elderly people are pressured to sell properties, sign powers of attorney, anticipate inheritances or make donations without fully understanding the legal consequences.

"When someone uses legal instruments to take away an elderly person's autonomy without need, we are dealing with a form of violence. The appearance of legality does not eliminate abuse", explains Alexsandra.

Another aspect that worries experts is so-called emotional violence. It does not always involve shouting or aggression, but manifests itself when the elderly person is constantly disqualified, treated as incapable, prevented from expressing their will or removed from social life.

According to Alexsandra, this type of behavior usually produces profound consequences.

"When we prevent elderly people from participating in decisions about their own lives, we fail to recognize them as subjects of rights. It starts to be treated as an object of decisions made by third parties", he states.

For Bárbara Perpétuo, this process affects not only self-esteem, but also cognitive health.

"Autonomy and independence are fundamental for healthy aging. The more a person continues to participate in decisions, exercising their reasoning, maintaining social relationships and using their cognitive abilities, the greater the chances of preserving quality of life for longer", he explains.

The expert points out that aging naturally causes changes in the brain, but this does not mean that every change in memory represents a neurodegenerative disease.

"From adulthood onwards we start to lose neurons. This is part of human aging. Cognitive stimulation helps preserve important functions, delaying the natural impacts of aging and promoting greater independence throughout life", he states.

It is precisely this confusion between natural aging and disability that, according to experts, leaves room for many situations of abuse. When family members stop listening to the elderly person just because they get older, the right to autonomy begins to be replaced by control.

In Bárbara's opinion, combating this scenario requires information, awareness and a cultural change in the way society views aging.

"We need to stop looking only at limitations and understand that caring also means preserving autonomy, stimulating capabilities and ensuring that the person continues to be the protagonist of their own story", he concludes.

In practice, identifying invisible violence requires attention to changes in behavior and situations that, in isolation, may seem trivial. Among the main warning signs are the difficulty in understanding signed documents, decisions made by third parties without consulting the elderly person, social isolation, constant fear, sudden changes in the administration of assets and legal measures that are more restrictive than necessary.

Wills respected
For Alexsandra Manoel Garcia, one of the most recurring mistakes is believing that protection depends on replacing the will of the elderly person.

"Protecting does not mean deciding everything for her. It means creating conditions so that she can continue to make decisions with security, support, information and respect", he states.

The expert explains that guardianship, often confused with a form of broad interdiction, should only be used when there is an effective loss of the capacity for discernment, always subject to medical evaluation and a judicial decision.

Even in these cases, the measure needs to be proportional. The trustee cannot, for example, freely sell assets or use financial resources for their own benefit. All property administration must exclusively serve the interests of the elderly person and, when necessary, be monitored by the Judiciary and the Public Prosecutor's Office.

Another point frequently observed by experts involves family isolation. In many cases, violence does not happen through aggression, but through deprivation of interaction with children, grandchildren, friends and other people in the support network.

According to Alexsandra, the so-called alienation against elderly people also deserves attention, when family members create false narratives to break emotional ties.

"When someone convinces the elderly that their children or grandchildren do not want to visit them, when they prevent this contact or create false memories to keep important people away from their coexistence, we are also facing a form of psychological violence", he explains.

The impacts of this process go beyond the emotional sphere. The gradual loss of social relationships is associated with an increased risk of cognitive decline, depressive symptoms, and reduced quality of life.

This is precisely why, for Bárbara Perpétuo, preserving autonomy must be seen as part of health promotion.

"Information allows people to understand the natural aging process and know how to differentiate expected changes from those that require medical evaluation. When we understand this, we are able to protect without taking away the independence of the elderly person", he states.

She highlights that keeping the brain active through cognitive challenges, continuous learning and social participation contributes to prolonging functional capacity and autonomy.

"The brain needs to be stimulated throughout life. Just as we take care of diet, sleep and physical activity, we also need to take care of our cognitive health. The more we preserve these functions, the greater the possibility of aging independently", he highlights.

The lawyer reinforces that prevention also involves simple measures, such as never signing documents without full understanding, seeking legal advice before making powers of attorney, donations or property contracts and formalizing family agreements whenever there is property sharing or asset management.

"The elderly person is not an object. They are a person with history, desires and rights. Every decision must be based on respect for their dignity", he states.

When violence is suspected, experts advise that family members, neighbors and health professionals should not remain silent. Complaints can be made through Dial 100, the Municipal Councils for the Elderly, the Public Defender's Office, the Public Prosecutor's Office or with the help of lawyers specialized in Family and Succession Law.

For Bárbara, however, facing this problem begins even before the complaint.

"We need to change the way we see aging. The objective should not just be to live longer, but to live with autonomy, ability to choose and quality of life. Preserving the brain, stimulating cognition and maintaining the active participation of the elderly are concrete forms of protection", he states.

In a rapidly aging country, experts argue that violence against elderly people should no longer be treated solely as a public security or social assistance problem. The challenge also involves health, education, family relationships and guaranteeing rights.

More than preventing physical attacks, protecting means ensuring that men and women continue to exercise their autonomy, participating in decisions about their own lives and being recognized as protagonists of their own history.

It is at this point that information stops being just knowledge and becomes a prevention tool. After all, many of the most serious forms of violence do not begin with a gesture of aggression, but with something apparently simple: the moment when someone stops asking the elderly person what they really want.

Source: CNN