In 2014, Marsha Wetzel, a 70-year-old lesbian, moved into the Glen Saint Andrew Living Community, a residential facility for older adults in Niles, Illinois. After her arrival, she spoke openly both to staff and other residents about her sexual orientation and was met with verbal and physical abuse. Residents called her vicious names, including "homosexual bitch." Wetzel uses a motorized scooter, and at one point a fellow resident pushed her hard enough that she fell off a ramp. In another incident, an attacker yelled "homo" and struck her in the back of the head.
When Wetzel reported the abuse to Glen Saint Andrew's staff, she was told that the behavior was accidental and that she was a liar. The management then retaliated against Wetzel for her complaints by barring her from some areas of the building. In response, Wetzel changed her daily routine. She ate meals in her room and stopped visiting certain areas to avoid one of her attackers. She did not use the laundry room at times when she might be alone. She stayed away from the common spaces from which she had been barred.
After 15 months, Wetzel filed a lawsuit alleging that Glen Saint Andrew had failed to ensure a nondiscriminatory living environment and had retaliated against her for complaining about sex-based harassment, each in violation of the Fair Housing Act (FHA). The district court dismissed the claims because there was no contention that Glen Saint Andrew acted with discriminatory animus. But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, in Wetzel v. Glen St. Andrew Living Community (2018), reinstated Wetzel's case, holding that the FHA prohibition on discrimination in housing conditions encompasses the duty "to take reasonable steps within its control to stop" harassment between residents based on protected characteristics (like sex) of which it has "actual notice." The case is now pending in the district court.
Bullying is often thought to be a problem for adolescents. But Wetzel's case is an instance of bullying among older adults and is similar to cases that arise in many senior living communities. Bullying behaviors often occur in small group settings with members who interact regularly, such as in schools. But senior living communities and senior centers also fit this description and provide opportunities for bullies to form cliques, cause social ostracism, and engage in verbal and even physical abuse. In older populations, bullying behaviors can emerge as individuals try to compensate for feelings of vulnerability resulting from a loss of independence, income or long-term relationships. And changes in abilities related to aging can make older adults vulnerable to bullying.
Instances of bullying among older adults are likely to increase in frequency as this population grows. But most state anti-bullying laws and education efforts to prevent bullying conceptualize bullying as a problem that primarily or only affects adolescents. This approach ignores the real issues faced by older adults like Wetzel. Civil rights laws such as the FHA don't fully address the problem, as they provide remedies only in certain circumstances—for example, when harassment is based on a protected characteristic and the institution is aware of the harassment.
Research by psychologists on bullying among older adults can help address this problem by clarifying how this bullying is similar to and different from bullying among adolescents; shaping the reform of anti-bullying laws to effectively address the circumstances of older adult bullies and victims; and influencing the design of anti-bullying education that speaks to these issues and contexts.
“Judicial Notebook” is a project of APA Div. 9 (Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues).
