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Battling to end elder abuse |
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Written by Dave Mabell Lethbridge Herald
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Monday, June 15 2009, 9:19 PM |
In Canada, it’s illegal to beat your spouse or abuse your children. But seniors are still fair game, apparently, with no laws protecting them from different kinds of abuse. That’s why Lethbridge seniors’ advocates and police are spearheading a campaign against elder abuse here.
More than 150 cases of elder abuse were investigated last year, points out Const. Dan Walton, diversity officer for Lethbridge Regional Police.
“Most of those were financial abuse,” he adds.
Other seniors may suffer from emotional abuse — berated cruelly by their children or other family members — or from physical attacks. But maybe the grandchildren can come to their defence.
That was one of the messages Monday, when Walton and a staff member at the Lethbridge Senior Citizens Organization spoke to Grade 9 students at St. Francis Junior High.
“They’ll take this home,” where they might recognize abusive relationships affecting seniors they know.
“We have students who have grandparents living in their home,” explained teacher Glen Viney. “It’s a real-life scenario for a lot of them.”
Walton and Marlene Van Eden, a seniors’ support co-ordinator, led discussion of the issue after showing video re-enactments of typical elder abuse situations. Later on Monday, Elder Abuse Awareness Day around the world, they took a similar message to the Medicine Tree Friendship Centre.
Both speak frequently with groups at seniors centres, lodges, care homes and other places where seniors meet, they pointed out. College and high school classes are also included in their schedule, so long as they’re booked ahead.
Students are offered suggestions on how to respond, Walton said — not just how to recognize abuse.
Tapping someone on the shoulder — maybe even a parent — and expressing concern about how an elder member of the family is being treated, could be effective. As part of their religious instruction, Viney said students are reminded how important it is to treat other people as they’d expect to be treated.
Anti-bullying campaigns have been introduced in many Alberta schools, and Monday’s lesson was that it’s not just other teens who are bullied.
“I’m sure these sessions make an impact,” said Viney, who’s brought the elder abuse team to St. Francis for four years.
Often all that’s needed, Walton stressed, is help from one of the city’s support groups. Social workers, lawyers and other professionals can help resolve a stressful situation.
“Not everything is a Criminal Code matter.”
While criminal charges can be laid in exceptional cases, he said the province’s Mental Health Act may prove more useful in a variety of situations. When someone is showing signs of dementia, or has stopped taking prescribed medications, that law allows police and social workers to take the person to see an appropriate health-care professional.
The city’s senior centres serve not only as contact points for suspected elder abuse, Van Eden said, but they also provide opportunities for seniors who feel they’re being taken advantage of, to speak with knowledgeable staff members.
In the longer term, she added, Lethbridge needs a dedicated seniors abuse phone line just as Medicine Hat, Calgary and other Alberta cities already have in place.
“We’re applied for some funding,” Van Eden said, but it’s too soon to know what response Lethbridge will receive.
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