Over 17 per cent of Canada’s population is 65 years of age or older.[1] Further, 1 in 5 Canadians has experienced caring for someone living with a form of dementia[2] and it is projected that by the year 2030, there will be 912,000[3] Canadians living with dementia.
As Canada’s ageing and vulnerable populations continue to grow, we must stay alert to support the prevention of elder abuse by understanding its boundaries, causes, and symptoms.
What is “Elder Abuse”?
Elder abuse has a broad scope and refers to any act or omission within a relationship where there is an expectation of trust that harms a senior person’s health or welfare.
In legal terms, we refer to “elder abuse” as a breach of trust. The stories that frequent the news and media foster the impression that caregivers are the frequent elder abusers—but that is short-sighted and not supported by the data. Elder abuse can occur in the home, long-term care homes, other residential settings, or in the community. More often than you may think, the “abusers” are friends, relatives, landlords, and neighbours in addition to caregivers—not to mention the general fraudster.
The term ‘abuse’ tends to conjure up thoughts of physical abuse, psychological/emotional abuse (verbal), sexual abuse, and neglect. Additionally, elder abuse may include abuse of a power of attorney document or other legal authority, fraud, theft, threats, misuse of funds, and coercion.
Please log in to read the full article.