日本「老人虐待防治暨老人照顧者支援法」之分析：對臺灣老人保護工作的啟示

An Analysis on Japan's Elder Abuse Prevention and Caregiver Support Law: Lessons to Taiwan's Elder Protection

日本於2006年實施的「老人虐待防治暨老人照顧者支援法」（原文為「高齢者虐待の防止、高齢者の養護者に対する支援等に関する法律」），是世界上第一個以國家法律形式針對老人虐待問題作出明確規範的法律。此項法律的實施，不僅針對老人虐待問題提出了新的觀點，更進一步對老人虐待的防治工作採取多元的預防策略。日本藉由「老人虐待防治暨老人照顧者支援法」，得以更為全面地預防及解決老人虐待的問題，達到「早期發現，早期介入」的政策目標。本研究採用質性研究方法中的文獻分析法，蒐集與「老人虐待防治暨老人照顧者支援法」相關的日文、英文學術期刊文章、雜誌、書籍及評論等，也包括相關的統計資料及專題研討會議之紀錄或討論，以求資料分析的完整與全面。本研究發現，首先，日本「老人虐待防治暨老人照顧者支援法」立法的過程與介護保險法的通過有關，此外社會輿論及專業團體的推動，也促成「政策機會窗」的開啟。再者，日本針對老人虐待的防治工作，不僅是重視老人受虐的通報及對施虐者的處罰，更強調政府的政策責任、受虐者的保護及施虐者的協助。最後，本研究呈現日本以「老人防虐網」的概念，進行老人虐待防治工作的輪廓，並對我國老人保護工作提出可能的建議與改進方向，以收「他人之石，可以攻錯」之效。

The Elder Abuse Prevention and Caregiver Support Law, which is the first legislation specifically dealing with elder abuse, has been implementing since 2006 in Japan. This new perspective toward the elderly abuse sets on a milestone in which the elderly abuse is clearly defined by law, and it suggests a prevention strategy cooperating with multiple stakeholders. In this way, the Elder Abuse Prevention and Caregiver Support Law is beneficial to prevent the occurrence of elder abuse, and it is also helpful to early intervention for the elder abuse. This research adopts documentary analysis, which is a sort of qualitative research method, facilitates our analysis in depth. The analytical data include journal articles, newspaper, books, and so on. The findings include, firstly, the implementation of the Elder Abuse Prevention and Caregiver Support Law is closely related to the introduction of the Long Term Care Law in 2000. Meanwhile, the public requests and professional groups also facilitated opening the window of policy opportunities. Secondly, according to its core spirit, the prevention of the elder abuse does not only rely on the mandated report and abuser's punishment, but also focuses on the government’s policy, protection for the abused elderly, and assistances to the abusers. Finally, the author claimed that the concept of the elder abuse prevention network in Japan is a significant mechanism for the prevention of elder abuse in Taiwan. In conclusion, the Elder Abuse Prevention and Caregiver Support Law may give lessons to the development of Taiwan’s elder abuse prevention in the future.