Battling to end elder abuse
by Dave Mabell
Lethbridge Herald
15 June 2009
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.”
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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