CARP Pre-Budget Policy Proposals for Provincial Governments

Establish a requirement that 80% of funds awarded to home care agencies be utilized for direct home care service delivery.

Personal Security – Elder Abuse

At the heart of the various definitions of elder abuse – physical, psychological or financial – the single most important element is trust, or rather, the breach of trust. And it is the violation of this most generous of sentiments – trusting someone close to you – that makes elder abuse so deplorable.

There is limited research into the prevalence of elder abuse but there are alarming trends: for instance, the majority of abuse is perpetrated against women and increases with age. Most prevalence surveys place the rate of elder abuse at around 10%. This means that a shocking 10% of people over the age of 65 are thought to be victims of violence.[i][i] Yet the general public still seems unaware of the magnitude of the issue. In a national survey on abuse, only 1% of respondents registered abuse against seniors as a type of family violence.

What is needed is a comprehensive response that involves all the public institutions from social services and healthcare to the criminal justice system. The recent Moncton story of Kathleen Grant, a 77-year-old woman whose daughter let her die from neglect demonstrates the need to for such a coordinated response system. It has been pointed out by observers that in this case, there were many points at which someone could have intervened. Children’s Aid Services had previously removed Ms Grant’s grandchildren from the home as the daughter was deemed unable to parent the children but nothing was done to protect Ms Grant from the same inadequate situation.

In a recent survey, respondents were asked what they would do if they suspected someone they knew was being abused, and the vast majority said they would report it to someone else (80%) as opposed to investigating themselves (16%). This demonstrates the strong willingness of people to act but also the critical need for robust third-party reporting requirements and intervention agencies to deal with elder abuse. Once a person is found to be at risk of being further abused, there is a need to establish a shelter for them if they must leave an abusive home. Seniors have special care needs and often have mobility and other challenges thus making them ineligible for shelters that do not offer assistive services. There are some important initiatives but they cannot meet the demand:

Edmonton has a coordinated elder abuse response team that includes police officers, registered nurses as well as community service workers.

Pat’s Place in Toronto is an apartment where abused seniors can stay while they are in transition but it does not offer on-site assistance.

The Kerby Centre in Calgary is North America’s first shelter for abused seniors. It offers provides crisis intervention, support, advocacy, referral, short-term housing and the necessities of daily life.

Develop and adopt a comprehensive Anti-Elder Abuse Strategy that includes:

public education and awareness (elder abuse sensitivity training for all first responders and community service workers.)