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Royal Statistical Society Social Statistics Section 16 October 2007, 5.00pm, at the Royal Statistical Society (Tea from 4.30pm) Measuring elder abuse and neglect in the UK Bob Erens (NatCen) and Simon Biggs (Institute of Gerontology, Kings College London) Elder mistreatment is increasingly acknowledged as a social problem in the UK, but there has been an absence of any sound data on its extent. In 2006, NatCen and KCL carried out the first nationally representative survey of elder abuse in the community. The seminar will describe the methods used to measure elder abuse in private households, and prevalence estimates for the four types of abuse (financial, psychological, physical and sexual) and neglect will be provided. The speakers will also discuss how the concept of elder abuse was operationalised in the survey context, and some of the constraints and limitations of the survey's methodology. In particular, the definition of abuse occurring within a "relationship of trust", a concept which can be operationalised in a number of ways, has proved to be quite contentious since the survey results were published. The presentation will also look at how the prevalence estimates have been used and mis-used since entering the public domain. Some of the policy implications will be discussed, including the need for responses that reflect the specific patterns of different forms of abuse, the difficulty of generalising community findings to more vulnerable groups in institutions and the need to develop more sophisticated methods of investigation. The seminar will be chaired by Susan Purdon. Attendance is free but pre-registration is recommended. You can register by email: [log in to unmask] or by phone (020) 7638 8998. For a map and directions see http://www.rss.org.uk/about/direction.html. We anticipate the seminar will finish at around 6pm. For further information contact Susan Purdon on 020 7549 7064 or [log in to unmask]