ABSTRACT
Information collected in the course of the research suggests that in South Africa, although some elderly people are looked after by their families, others require a variety of support, including accommodation. This is reflected in the number of homes established by community voluntary groups. One of the community groups which recognised this need was the Ikageng Women's Group in the Gauteng Province. In the course of their work, members of the group were made aware of elderly people who had no one to care for them. The abuse of elderly people by their family members is not unique to South Africa. Financial motives feature prominently in the abuse experienced by elderly people. Although not all elderly people are killed for their money, many are put under a lot of pressure to part with their pension. The real problem is that even when people report the attack to the police, very little is done to protect elderly people.
