City safe house a refuge from financial, emotional abuse, conference hears
By Jennifer Yang
The Edmonton Journal
September 10, 2008
EDMONTON - Bernice Sewell has heard countless tales of seniors being abused, but there's one in particular that stands out.
This year, she met an immigrant woman who explained why -- at the age of 80 -- she had finally decided to leave her husband.
"She said, 'As a woman in my country, I was born a slave. I will not die a slave,' " said Sewell, who as director of operations for the Seniors Association of Greater Edmonton runs the city's only safe house for abused elders.
"It just made the hair on the back of my neck stand up."
On Tuesday, Sewell shared that story in a workshop entitled Shelter Innovations to Support Seniors. The workshop was one of dozens held at the World Conference of Women's Shelters in Edmonton, the first international conference of its kind.
Elder abuse is defined as any action or inaction that causes harm to a senior citizen, and about 60 per cent of victims are women.
Senior women are three times less likely to report abuse than younger women are, and also have fewer resources available to them.
Most women's shelters are geared toward younger clients, and elderly women facing abusive situations often have nowhere to turn.
Tuesday's workshop sought to address such issues and featured presentations from two organizations in B.C. and Calgary, each employing strategies for addressing abuse against elderly women.
"I believe that elder abuse is beginning to get recognized," Sewell said. "As the need continues to grow, we will need more services, more resources."
Copyright © 2008 CanWest Interactive
Abridged
SOURCE: The Edmonton Journal
-----------------------------------------------------
More Recent Posts from Spotlight on Elder Abuse
No comments:
Post a Comment