1Designating October 2014 as "Senior Bully Awareness Month" in
2Pennsylvania.

3WHEREAS, October is National Bullying Prevention Month and
4this yearly campaign unites communities nationwide to educate
5and raise awareness of bullying prevention; and

6WHEREAS, It is generally believed that 4% to 6% of elderly
7persons are abused; and

8WHEREAS, Throughout the world, abuse and neglect of elderly
9persons is largely unrecognized; and

10WHEREAS, No state or municipality is immune from this costly
11public health and human rights crisis; and

12WHEREAS, Research indicates that public education events such
13as National Bullying Prevention Month are vital for raising
14community awareness of, and mobilizing community action against,

1elder abuse and neglect and financial exploitation of elderly
2persons; and

3WHEREAS, As the population ages and more Americans become
4senior citizens with life savings, they become greater targets
5for fraud and deception; and

6WHEREAS, The ease of access for criminals to contact seniors
7through the Internet and telephone increases as more creative
8schemes emerge; and

9WHEREAS, Senior fraud is a growing concern as millions have
10fallen victim to scams, including Medicare scams, sweepstakes
11and lottery scams, investment and work-at-home scams,
12bereavement scams, identity theft, charity scams, granny scams
13and home repair scams; and

14WHEREAS, Senior citizens average one scam-type letter and two
15telemarketing phone calls per week; and

16WHEREAS, There are about five million cases of financial
17exploitation of elderly persons in the United States each year
18and the financial loss by victims is more than $2.9 billion
19annually for reported cases; and

20WHEREAS, Approximately 1.6 to 2 million seniors become
21victims of abuse or neglect in domestic and institutional
22settings in the United States every year; and

23WHEREAS, The four most common forms of elder abuse are
24physical abuse, including sexual abuse, psychological and
25emotional abuse, financial/material abuse and neglect; and

26WHEREAS, Most elder abuse victims are dependent on their
27abusers for basic needs; and

28WHEREAS, At least one in nine Americans who are 60 years of
29age or older has experienced some form of elder abuse; and

30WHEREAS, Seniors who have been abused have a 300% higher risk

1of death when compared to those who have not been abused; and

2WHEREAS, In almost 90% of elder abuse and neglect incidents,
3the perpetrator is a family member, and two-thirds of
4perpetrators are adult children or spouses; and

5WHEREAS, Almost 50% of seniors with dementia experience some
6form of abuse; and

7WHEREAS, For every reported incident of elder abuse, five
8others go unreported; and

9WHEREAS, While 91% of Federal abuse prevention dollars are
10spent on child abuse, 7% are spent on domestic abuse and only 2%
11are allocated to protect elderly persons; therefore be it

12RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate the
13month of October 2014 as "Senior Bully Awareness Month" in
14Pennsylvania.