Elder abuse: What to do?
Verified 06 April 2020 - Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister), Ministry of Justice
If you are a senior who has been abused, you can report it. You can also make a report if you witness or are informed of such facts, even if you are subject to professional secrecy (e.g. medical confidentiality). You can benefit from assistance and protection regardless of your nationality and regardless of the length of your stay in France.
General case
Abuse includes all forms of physical or psychological violence. Whether it's beatings, bullying or deprivation.
Passive behavior, if it harms the elderly person, is also considered to be abuse: deprivation of care, food, abandonment in any place...
Anyone who is aware of a situation of elder abuse in a nursing home should alert the prefect, regardless of the severity of the situation. A care home officer who has reported a case of abuse in their home cannot be sanctioned for reporting it. The prefect can be alerted on the spot, by telephone, by post or by email.
Who shall I contact
Advice can be obtained by calling the dedicated telephone contact center 3977.
Who shall I contact
Abuse of the elderly and disabled - 3977
Listen, support and help for the elderly or disabled, for carers and for witnesses of abuse against them.
By telephone
3977
Open from Monday to Friday from 9am to 7pm.
Free service + cost of a call to a fixed number, from a fixed or mobile phone.
FYI
if the perpetrator of the abuse is a doctor, you can also notify the council of the medical college.
Who shall I contact
The person making the report must disclose any information about the abuse that is known to him or her.
Failure to report a situation of known elder abuse can be punished with up to 3 years in prison and €45,000 of fine.
Abuse includes all forms of physical or psychological violence. Whether it's beatings, bullying or deprivation.
Passive behavior, if it harms the elderly person, is also considered to be abuse: deprivation of care, food, abandonment in any place...
Anyone who becomes aware of elder abuse in a public or private health facility should alert the regional health agency (RHA), regardless of the severity of the situation. A hospital officer who has reported a case of abuse in his or her institution cannot be punished for reporting it.
To make the report, you must go to the website of the LRA responsible for the city concerned and follow the procedure for reporting a risk to public health.
Who shall I contact
Advice can be obtained by calling the dedicated telephone contact center 3977.
Who shall I contact
Abuse of the elderly and disabled - 3977
Listen, support and help for the elderly or disabled, for carers and for witnesses of abuse against them.
By telephone
3977
Open from Monday to Friday from 9am to 7pm.
Free service + cost of a call to a fixed number, from a fixed or mobile phone.
FYI
if the perpetrator of the abuse is a doctor, you can also notify the council of the medical college.
Who shall I contact
The person making the report must disclose any information about the abuse that is known to him or her.
Failure to report a situation of known elder abuse can be punished with up to 3 years in prison and €45,000 of fine.
Abuse includes all forms of physical or psychological violence. Whether it's beatings, bullying or deprivation.
Passive behavior, if it harms the elderly person, is also considered to be abuse: deprivation of care, food, abandonment in any place...
These acts are punished regardless of their perpetrators: family, personal doctor, home help...
Any person who is aware of a situation of abuse of an abused elderly person must alert the competent public prosecutor, regardless of the seriousness of the situation.
Who shall I contact
Advice can be obtained by calling the dedicated telephone contact center 3977.
Who shall I contact
Abuse of the elderly and disabled - 3977
Listen, support and help for the elderly or disabled, for carers and for witnesses of abuse against them.
By telephone
3977
Open from Monday to Friday from 9am to 7pm.
Free service + cost of a call to a fixed number, from a fixed or mobile phone.
FYI
if the perpetrator of the abuse is a doctor, you can also notify the council of the medical college.
Who shall I contact
The person making the report must disclose any information about the abuse that is known to him or her.
Failure to report a situation of known elder abuse can be punished with up to 3 years in prison and €45,000 of fine.
Witness subject to professional secrecy
Abuse includes all forms of physical or psychological violence. Whether it's beatings, bullying or deprivation.
Passive behavior, if it harms the elderly person, is also considered to be abuse: deprivation of care, food, abandonment in any place...
A professional who witnesses elder abuse in a nursing home should alert the prefect:
- Whether there is deprivation (of care, food) or abuse (physical or psychological)
- If there is a risk of suicide or injury to life by the use of a weapon
A doctor in a nursing home who has reported a case of abuse in their institution cannot be punished for reporting it.
The prefect can be alerted on the spot, by telephone, by post or by email.
Who shall I contact
Advice can be obtained by calling the dedicated telephone contact center 3977.
Who shall I contact
Abuse of the elderly and disabled - 3977
Listen, support and help for the elderly or disabled, for carers and for witnesses of abuse against them.
By telephone
3977
Open from Monday to Friday from 9am to 7pm.
Free service + cost of a call to a fixed number, from a fixed or mobile phone.
Because of professional secrecy, a doctor is only obliged to report the facts found: he is not obliged to report the author, even if he knows him.
Failure to report a situation of known elder abuse can be punished with up to 3 years in prison and €45,000 of fine.
Abuse includes all forms of physical or psychological violence. Whether it's beatings, bullying or deprivation.
Passive behavior, if it harms the elderly person, is also considered to be abuse: deprivation of care, food, abandonment in any place...
A health care practitioner who witnesses elder abuse in a health care setting should alert the regional health agency (RHA):
- Whether there is deprivation (of care, food) or abuse (physical or psychological)
- If there is a risk of suicide or injury to life by the use of a weapon
Whether the victim is in a public hospital or a private health care facility, the report must be made.
A doctor who has reported a case of abuse in his institution cannot be punished because of his report.
To make the report, you must go to the website of the LRA responsible for the city and follow the procedure for reporting a public health risk.
Who shall I contact
Advice can be obtained by calling the dedicated telephone contact center 3977.
Who shall I contact
Abuse of the elderly and disabled - 3977
Listen, support and help for the elderly or disabled, for carers and for witnesses of abuse against them.
By telephone
3977
Open from Monday to Friday from 9am to 7pm.
Free service + cost of a call to a fixed number, from a fixed or mobile phone.
FYI
if the perpetrator of the abuse is a doctor, you can also notify the council of the medical college.
Who shall I contact
Because of professional secrecy, a doctor is only obliged to report the facts found: he is not obliged to report the author, even if he knows him.
Failure to report a situation of known elder abuse can be punished with up to 3 years in prison and €45,000 of fine.
Abuse includes all forms of physical or psychological violence. Whether it's beatings, bullying or deprivation.
Passive behavior, if it harms the elderly person, is also considered to be abuse: deprivation of care, food, abandonment in any place...
These acts are punished, regardless of their perpetrators: family, personal doctor, home help...
Professionals who witness elder abuse should also alert the public prosecutor:
- whether there is deprivation (of care, food) or abuse (physical or psychological),
- if there is a risk of suicide or injury to life by the use of a weapon.
Who shall I contact
Advice can be obtained by calling the dedicated telephone contact center 3977.
Who shall I contact
Abuse of the elderly and disabled - 3977
Listen, support and help for the elderly or disabled, for carers and for witnesses of abuse against them.
By telephone
3977
Open from Monday to Friday from 9am to 7pm.
Free service + cost of a call to a fixed number, from a fixed or mobile phone.
FYI
if the perpetrator of the abuse is a doctor, you can also notify the council of the medical college.
Who shall I contact
The reporting person must disclose all information about the abuse that is known to him.
By way of exception, a doctor is only required to report the facts found, because of professional secrecy: he is not obliged to report the author, even if he knows him.
Failure to report a situation of known elder abuse can be punished with up to 3 years in prison and €45,000 of fine.
Derogation from professional secrecy
Failure to report abuse
Rights of persons hospitalized or in retirement homes
Reporting of abuse in nursing homes or hospitals
National Solidarity Fund for Autonomy (CNSA)