The Harassment and Abuse of Older People in the Private Rented Sector
| Date | 01 December 2003 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14668203200300033 |
| Published date | 01 December 2003 |
| Pages | 38-39 |
| Author | Jonathan Parker |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Sociology |
38 © Pavilion Publishing (Brighton) Limited The Journal of Adult Protection Volume 5 Issue 4 • December 2003
This report concerns a research project funded by Help the
Aged. It fills a gap in our existing knowledge by focusing on
the experiences of abuse and harassment of older people in
private rented accommodation. As such, it is to be welcomed
and applauded.
The research was exploratory and qualitative in design. It
was undertaken in six English locations in the North (two),
Midlands, South Coast, South West and London. Interviews
and focus groups were used to gain a balance of information
from statutory and voluntary agencies and a range of older
private tenants and those who had moved. Information was
also collected by observation of private landlord forums and
interviews with a small number of private landlords. The latter
could usefully be expanded in a further research project.
The report is helpful in reviewing the extent and diversity
of the private rented sector. An historical sweep of the
development of the sector provides the context for the report.
Indeed, exploration of the marginalised and excluded nature
of older people in the private rented sector could have formed
a fruitful line of enquiry to pursue further. The report
examines aspects of the private sector at the macro and
structural level and also micro-level concerns such as the
environmental fitness and state of repair of accommodation.
The repair of individual properties is considered from the
perspective of legal definitions of harassment.
The authors point out that housing is often excluded from
definitions of elder abuse as, traditionally, attempts at
definition have concentrated on institutional and family
settings. This theme could have expanded the growing interest
in criminal justice approaches to abuse and harassment as well
as the debate concerning structural abuse and discrimination.
However, when the authors articulate the experiences of older
people from their fieldwork the central strength of this report
The Harassment and
Abuse of Older People
in the Private Rented
Sector
Nancy Carlton, Frances
Heywood, Misa Izuhara,
Jenny Pannell, Tina Fear and
Robin Means
Bristol: Policy Press
(2003)
£14.99
ISBN 1 86134 458 9
Book review
J/194/11/03JAP5.4DecInsides 8/12/03 10:56 am Page 38
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