CNN investigation published: February 22, 2017
"The unthinkable is happening at facilities throughout the country: Vulnerable seniors are being raped and sexually abused by the very people paid to care for them.
"It's impossible to know just how many victims are out there. But through an exclusive analysis of state and federal data and interviews with experts, regulators and the families of victims, CNN has found that this little-discussed issue is more widespread than anyone would imagine.
"Even more disturbing: In many cases, nursing homes and the government officials who oversee them are doing little - or nothing - to stop it.
"Sometimes pure - and even willful - negligence is at work. In other instances, nursing home employees and administrators are hamstrung in their efforts to protect victims who can't remember exactly what happened to them or even identify their perpetrators.
"In cases reviewed by CNN, victims and their families were failed at every stage. Nursing homes were slow to investigate and report allegations because of a reluctance to believe the accusations - or a desire to hide them. Police viewed the claims as unlikely at the outset, dismissing potential victims because of failing memories or jumbled allegations. And because of the high bar set for substantiating abuse, state regulators failed to flag patterns of repeated allegations against a single caregiver.
"It's these systemic failures that make it especially hard for victims to get justice - and even easier for perpetrators to get away with their crimes."
Continue reading about the mishandling and lack of prevention of rape, sexual assault and sexual abuse cases in nursing homes here:
http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2017/02/health/nursing-home-sex-abuse-investigation/
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