According to the British Columbia CEAS, elder abuse means an action, or deliberate behaviour by a person(s) in a position of trust, such as an adult child, family member, friend or caregiver, that causes an adult physical, emotional or mental harm or damage to, or loss of, assets or property.
This can be accomplished by various means, i.e. threats, intimidation, humiliation, physical or sexual assault, over/under medicating, withholding medication, censoring mail, invasion or denial of privacy and denial of access to visitors. The main reason for abuse is to establish dominance and control by one person over another.
Increasingly distressed by what she found, Dr. Podnieks became more interested in both acute and long-term care. As a result of that interest, she managed to secure funding from Health Canada and released a ground-breaking national study on elder abuse in 1992. For her pioneering efforts, she was awarded the Order of Canada. And as a result of her study, the federal government started funding elder-abuse initiatives across the country.
Since those early days, enormous progress has been made in the areas of public education and awareness. Practically every major scientific and educational conference offers presentations about elder abuse, and it has been widely covered by the media. Today, there isn't a region in Canada that isn't aware of a growing problem of elder abuse that needs to be addressed.
British Columbia, for example, is typical of many provinces that have Adult Guardianship legislation that addresses the needs of all adults. As part of this strategy, 70 Community Response Networks around the province respond to abuse and neglect of vulnerable adults. At this time, B.C. CEAS (formerly B.C. Coalition to Eliminate Abuse of Seniors) is the only social agency of its kind in the province whose focus is abuse and neglect issues affecting older adults.
- In Canada, between four and 10 per cent of seniors over 65 years old suffer from elder abuse.
- One in every 12 seniors living in British Columbia experiences some form of abuse, giving the province the highest rate of elder abuse in the country.
- The most common form of elder abuse is financial. A 1998 study by the Older Women's Network revealed that, in Ontario, financial abuse accounts for nearly two-thirds of elder abuse, followed by verbal abuse, physical abuse and neglect.
- More women than men experience elder abuse. Female victims of abuse may not have held jobs, have less formal education, are more intimidated by technology and may be more dependent on their spouse or family. Proportionately, women also experience more abuse because they live longer.