As a 67-year-old woman became more senile, her daughter repeatedly brushed her hair; the daughter ultimately hit her mother with the brush. Did this constitute a crime?

• A. Yes — elder abuse
• B. No crime
• C. Self-defense
• D. Assault

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is that harming an elderly person who relies on you as a caregiver can fall under elder abuse statutes. Elders are recognized as a vulnerable population, and when a family member or someone in a caregiving role inflicts harm, the conduct can be prosecuted as elder abuse because it exploits that vulnerability and breaches the duty of care. In this scenario, the daughter’s actions began with repeated, controlling contact and ended with striking the mother with a hairbrush. That pattern shows abusive behavior toward a dependent elder, which fits the profile of elder abuse as a crime. The act would also be a form of physical violence and could support charges like assault or battery, but labeling it as elder abuse highlights the caregiver-elder dynamic and the protection these statutes provide to the elderly. Self-defense doesn’t apply here because there’s no indication the mother posed any imminent threat or acted to threaten the daughter. And it isn’t “no crime” because there is clearly harmful violence against a vulnerable person.