Elder Abuse
Canada's population is aging, resulting in an increase in elder abuse. This problem has been hidden to a large extent, and goes unacknowledged by many, but that makes it no less horrendous for those suffering from it. It is a form of abuse that needs to be treated the same way we treat child or spousal abuse. Twenty years ago, domestic violence was largely swept under the rug of societal complacency. We needed people to come forward and discuss it in public. We needed public education campaigns to heighten awareness of the problem, and the possible solutions. Canada needs to do the same now for its seniors.
Here are a few disquieting stats on the topic.
*Seven per cent of Canadians over the age of 65 experience some form of abuse, according to Statistics Canada
*Women are more commonly abused than men
*68% of seniors who were victims of physical abuse were abused by a family member
*In 77% of the abuse cases, the abuser was living with the victim
*42% of the abuse is perpetrated by the victims' adult children, and 31% by the spouses
Awareness of the issue needs especially to be raised among police forces and the judiciary, as well as among health-care workers and seniors themselves. If you're interested, you can learn a little more yourself with a click here. A real hurdle to handling this problem is the fact that so many victims fail to come forward with complaints. It is supected that only one in four cases is reported. They often suffer in silence so that they don't have to press charges against a family member, the perpetrator in the majority of cases.
The situation needs to be changed, and it would seem to me to be an issue in which absolutely everyone should take an interest. No matter what the other circumstances in your life may be, the one you can not escape is the ticking of the clock. It will bring every one of us to old age. You don't want to arrive at that point in your life and find yourself one of the aforementioned statistics, when you could have done something to prevent it today.
Here are a few disquieting stats on the topic.
*Seven per cent of Canadians over the age of 65 experience some form of abuse, according to Statistics Canada
*Women are more commonly abused than men
*68% of seniors who were victims of physical abuse were abused by a family member
*In 77% of the abuse cases, the abuser was living with the victim
*42% of the abuse is perpetrated by the victims' adult children, and 31% by the spouses
Awareness of the issue needs especially to be raised among police forces and the judiciary, as well as among health-care workers and seniors themselves. If you're interested, you can learn a little more yourself with a click here. A real hurdle to handling this problem is the fact that so many victims fail to come forward with complaints. It is supected that only one in four cases is reported. They often suffer in silence so that they don't have to press charges against a family member, the perpetrator in the majority of cases.
The situation needs to be changed, and it would seem to me to be an issue in which absolutely everyone should take an interest. No matter what the other circumstances in your life may be, the one you can not escape is the ticking of the clock. It will bring every one of us to old age. You don't want to arrive at that point in your life and find yourself one of the aforementioned statistics, when you could have done something to prevent it today.
1 Comments:
That's a pretty high statistic, and considering that the average age we're living to is over the 80s, you're looking at potentially over 15-years of having to endure some form of abuse.
It's not just the physical abuse however -- there is also the emotional abuse. What's the use of living that long if the quality of life just sucks?
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