Prevention

Prevention and Education*

An ounce of prevention...is worth a pound of cure.

A growing number of Canadian communities invest time and resources to raise awareness and help address abuse and neglect in later life, by focussing on prevention and education. People recognize it is both socially responsible and more cost effective to prevent abuse or neglect problems than try to deal with the fallout only after harms have occurred.

2. How Much Do Canadians Know About Abuse or Neglect of Seniors?

Many Canadians are unaware that some seniors experience abuse or neglect. Over the past three decades there has been a growing public awareness of family violence issues; however, in comparison, public knowledge about abuse or neglect of older adults has lagged far behind.

Abuse of seniors started being mentioned in Canada in the early 1980s. The first organized steps of public education began about fifteen years later - during the early to mid-1990s, largely as a result of family violence prevention funding provided by Health Canada for prevention and education pilot projects.

Provincial and territorial reports on seniors' priorities and reports on family violence from British Columbia, Ontario, Alberta, the Northwest Territories, and Prince Edward Island have highlighted the importance of prevention education regarding abuse of seniors and the need for continued efforts in this area. National and provincial surveys often illustrate that Canadians may not know much about abuse of seniors. For example:

a) In a national survey on family violence attitudes and opinions conducted in 2002, only 1% of the responses mentioned abuse against seniors as a type of family violence. Many people were unaware that abuse and neglect in later life happens. The report noted:

“Violence between spouses and [violence] by parents toward their children are the types of relationships Canadians tend to think of most when thinking about violence occurring in the immediate family. (Violence among siblings is considerably less likely to come to mind when Canadians think about violence within the immediate family and abuse of elderly parents is rarely mentioned).” (1)

In that national survey, people from Quebec and seniors were the most likely to recognize that abuse of older adults occurs.

Three out of five of the 2100 Canadians surveyed could correctly identify that failing to provide food, shelter or medical attention were forms of “family violence”. However, far fewer people could identify that financial abuse (one of the most common forms of abuse for older adults) was a type of family violence. (2)

b) In 2000, Prince Edward Island conducted a provincial survey of 300 adults about family violence. Among the people surveyed, 74% agreed that “elder abuse” occurred in that province. However, only 9% were able to identify abuse of seniors as a form of family violence. (3)

There has been significant community and government effort in the past to raise the visibility of child abuse and spousal abuse. Today, far fewer people now consider these forms of abuse only as personal matters, and more people view these as important social concerns. Canadian society, in general, has far less tolerance for child abuse and spousal abuse than people did in the1960s, for example.

Abuse of older adults deserves similar consideration and emphasis. It is important that abuse or harms across the lifespan are recognized and addressed in an equitable manner.

3. Why is There a Need for Prevention and Education Efforts?

Although there has been good prevention work done in some Canadian communities, today throughout much of the country, people are often unaware that abuse in later life happens and how to help if they suspect it is occurring. There is a lack of awareness of senior abuse in Canada because of ageism, a general lack of visibility of older adults in society, and social expectations about families.

A significant proportion of abuse and neglect in later life happens in the family, hidden from public view. Because older adults do not tend to have the same social contacts that arise for children (schools) or younger adults (workplace) - the problem largely remains socially “invisible.”

People may encounter situations where older adults are being harmed or their rights are being violated, but they may not identify these actions as "abusive" or "neglectful". For example, if people only think of physical assaults against older adults as "senior abuse", they may not realize that there are many other forms of abuse or neglect that older adults experience, such as:

	when an older man constantly belittles his wife to whom he has been married 45 years,
	when a son or daughter uses a parent's money, or a son with a gambling problem uses his father's credit card without the parent's full knowledge and free consent,
	when nursing home staff inappropriately restrains a resident in their care, or they ignore the resident's calls for help, or do not provide the person adequate water to drink.

Many forms of abuse are grounded in ageism. Actions that people would likely find offensive and socially unacceptable if they happened to younger persons or other groups are sometimes treated as acceptable if these are happening to an older person.

4. What is the Purpose of Prevention and Education in this Area?

Prevention serves several purposes:

a. Information aids choice: Good information helps to give people who are experiencing abuse or at risk of abuse or neglect more choices and possibly more control over their lives. Knowledge is power and knowledge can be used to help people better help themselves.

Reliable information allows people to protect themselves and their rights. This, in turn, helps them feel more in control and more able to make decisions about what they want to do (which researchers sometimes refer to as "increased control and self efficacy"). (5), (6)

People who work in the abuse prevention area note that there is often an overlap between the prevention work they do and providing assistance. Prevention work by service providers is often linked to knowing the right questions to ask (screening) as well as knowing when, where and how to make a referral to an appropriate community resource.

b. Information helps people avoid misconceptions. Service providers who are in contact with older adults need reliable information about abuse and neglect in later life (such as, what it is, what causes it, and where they can get help). Often, the way that service providers respond can help in the early identification and intervention of abuse, so that further harms do not occur.

Abuse prevention involves more than identifying what abuse is and explaining individuals' actions; it also involves describing and understanding the social context for abuse. For example, a significant proportion of Canadian families help each other in many ways throughout life. In later life, grown children may help aging parents. However, if service providers operate from the assumption that all families are "inherently good", they may inadvertently overlook or explain away some harmful actions. Or, if a policy is based on the expectation that families will automatically provide care to older adults, some families with poor relationships with their parents may be "thrown into" providing care, with the real risk of abuse or neglect occurring in the relationship.

c. Information helps people access needed resources and services. For an abused person, talking about abuse in one's own life takes considerable courage as well as placing trust in the person receiving the information. When they first receive information about abuse in later life, some older adults who are being abused or neglected may be afraid to acknowledge it. At the same time, as people become more aware about the problem, its dynamics, and its potential impact on older adults' and families' lives, abused persons are in a better position to make choices in the future. Those who care about older adults also begin to recognize there are alternatives, and Canadian society can become less abusive or neglectful.

5. Does Everyone Have the Same Prevention and Education Needs?

People's prevention and education needs are often similar, but there may be a need for different types of prevention messages, depending on whether the audience is the general public, seniors who have been abused or seniors who have not experienced abuse, family members, service providers, or other persons. Below are some the special directions that are being taken in Canada for specific audiences.

a. Prevention education for seniors

Information about abuse by itself is seldom enough.

Well thought out and properly vetted prevention and education information provided in a positive and respectful manner can help seniors recognize abuse or neglect for what it is. Increasingly prevention strategies being used in the community focus on empowerment of older adults, not victimization, and help older adults learn strategies to help prevent abuse from happening.(7)

Abuse prevention and education helps people consider:

“Are the problems I am struggling with ‘abuse’? Am I being abused?”

The information can also help abused or neglected seniors recognize that they are not alone (other adults experience abuse or neglect in later life too), they have some choices, and there is help available in their community. Education provides hope to the person. Older adults see that the abusive situation does not have to be a personal burden that an individual must suffer alone. They can also learn about their level of risk, how to protect their safety if they are experiencing abuse, and strategies for reducing harms..

Older individuals and families begin to recognize that abuse in later life is not a private matter, and that it should not be treated as a personal or family shame. Education and awareness can help to de-stigmatize being abused.

However, by itself, information about abuse is seldom sufficient.

People often need understanding and support.

We know from many areas of social sciences and health promotion, there is an important difference between “having knowledge” and “moving to action”. As some authorities on senior abuse have pointed out “… knowing one's rights is one thing—acting on them is another.” (8) People tend to assume that increased knowledge about rights will lead to action by abused older adults (e.g., that they will decide to leave or take some other action to protect themselves), we still need to learn in what circumstances it actually does occur.

In some cases, community service providers integrate their abuse prevention information into other information that they provide to seniors, such as health, housing, or safety information, helping to make it part of everyday knowledge.

Information given by seniors: During the past decade there has been a shift in many parts of Canada in how prevention education is being delivered to older adults. The traditional approach to prevention education has tended to be small community presentations on abuse delivered by service providers given at seniors' centres using videotapes, brief talks and providing brochures. That has been a valuable starting point in many communities. Prevention and education is often an important aspect of any community development for preventing and addressing senior abuse.

However increasingly, creative alternatives are developing in Canada. In some communities, older adults are taking on the responsibility of delivering abuse prevention information in a peer-to peer-approach, such as plays and skits developed by seniors’ theatre groups such as:

• AQDR Granby “Des secrets bien gardés” and “Parmi Nous” in Quebec,

• Health Action Theatre by Seniors (“HATS”) in Ontario. (9)

In the HATS approach, for example, the seniors use a script without words to help avoid language barriers. People become aware that abuse issues transcend language and culture. The script also builds in opportunities for the audience to actively identify key issues and dynamics, as well as offer alternatives in addressing the problem. These interactive approaches replace “talking at" older adults and others in the community to "talking with them". Abuse and neglect are two of many issues that these groups may present under the broad topic of aging.

For more information, see Role of Seniors.

Community resources and information need to go hand in hand.

Prince Edward Island has found there are other successful approaches to help prevent abuse or neglect of older adults. These address the social and environmental factors that create opportunities for abuse or neglect. These approaches focus on having resources in place that reduce older people's potential isolation, help them maintain their independence for as long as possible, and help their families. Abuse and neglect of older adults hurts the individual and affects families. For example, in their region, community groups such as seniors' organizations, local religious groups such as the Catholic Women’s League, as well as the local Legion can help seniors stay connected within the community; in-home supports such as Home Care and respite services can help seniors who are experiencing limitations in their lives and their families with practical support; and a single point of information and advocacy (such as the PEI Senior Citizens’ Federation) can help older adults access information. (10)

b. Prevention education for families

Families are an important group to reach concerning abuse of older adults. Aging spouses and other family provide 80% of caregiving for older adults in Canada. Currently, there has been little prevention education directly focussed on families in Canada. (11)

Prevention messages for families can help to identify ageism and reinforce social norms of acceptable and unacceptable behaviour toward older adults. There is a need to strengthen social norms against the use of psychological and physical means of manipulating and controlling people, no matter what their age is. (12) Prevention messages can help families learn more about the rights older adults have.

There have been some prevention efforts aimed at strengthening relations between generations. Some schools offer intergenerational approaches that teach about respect, aging and abuse. Manitoba's Seniors Directorate worked with the Girl Guides, RCMP and the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba to establish a guiding badge for Seniors Safety and Security. Part of earning the badge involves education about abuse of older adults. The initiative includes use of Manitoba’s Seniors Are Cool video which promotes positive views of aging for youth. (13)

At present, the issue of abuse or neglect by family members giving care to older adults is seldom addressed head-on in most community prevention work. The focus of education messages for family members providing care to older adults has tended to focus on reducing stresses, and encouraging them to take better care of themselves. This type of message can be helpful, may not be sufficient to prevent abuse or neglect by family members when they need practical resources.

c. Prevention education for service providers and volunteers

Any professional or service provider in regular contact with older adults and their families should be knowledgeable about aging issues to help avoid stereotypes and misconceptions, and should have a good understanding of abuse of older adults. This applies whether the service providers work in the community or in institutional settings. These groups can include physicians, social workers and nurses, seniors' organization staff, speech therapists, lawyers, clergy, Meals on Wheels staff, home support/ home care workers, volunteers and many others.

Training can provide people with needed information. It also helps to build community capacity and enhances important relationships among community players. Training contributes to a common understanding of the problem and of the appropriate means of intervention, as well as to a shared sense of responsibility. (14) The common components of education and training about abuse of older adults focus on

· how to recognize abuse,

· how to express concern in a genuine caring manner, and

· how to help the person link to appropriate community resources.

(See below for "What training resources exist?")

Some organizations have developed special information for their workers who may be assisting older victims. For example, the BC/Yukon Society of Transition Houses developed a manual "Silent and Invisible: What's Age Got to Do With It?" for transition home staff to help them understand abused older women's circumstances and needs. (15)

Some Canadian jurisdictions have created valuable opportunities to share information on abuse through conferences and “stakeholder meetings” such as the Ontario Stakeholder Networking Days. Provincial conferences dedicated to abuse issues for older adults have become another valuable means of sharing information about progress made elsewhere in the province.

Provincial conferences that have been held include:

· Ontario (held November 2002 and 2004, new conference in February 2006) (16),

· Quebec (held April, 2003) (17), and

· Newfoundland (held May, 2004). (18)

The Canadian Association on Gerontology holds an annual scientific and educational meeting, where researchers and community service providers present on many aging issues, including abuse in later life. Other professional organizations, such as the Aboriginal Nurses Association, and gerontological nurses associations, as well as some seniors' organizations, have occasionally held workshops, symposia or other special sessions on senior abuse over the years. (19)

d. Prevention education for business

To date, there have only been only modest efforts to increase awareness by businesses serving older adults (such as banks, credit unions) about abuse and neglect in later life. Some introductory work on financial abuse has been done in the financial industry through the “Money Matters for Seniors” video and training materials produced by the B.C. Coalition to Eliminate Abuse of Seniors (BCCEAS) and funded by Health Canada in the mid-1990s.

Private legal practice is another important business for consideration in this area. The National Elder Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association was officially inaugurated on September 1, 2002. It formally recognizes “elder law” as a legal specialty in Canada and opens up opportunities to build the skills and expertise of formal advocates about legal issues affecting older adults, including abuse and neglect. (20) The Quebec Human Rights Commission also has made specific recommendations on the role and training of notaries regarding abuse prevention. (21) The Canadian Centre for Elder Law Studies (which was launched in 2003), plans to develop educational materials that focus on elder law issues for the legal profession and some community information. (22)

e. Prevention education for the media

The media constitute an important source of positive and negative images of older adults in Canadian society. Abuse prevention education often involves working with the media to change negative images, raise awareness, and educate the general public about abuse of older adults. (23)

Recent social marketing campaigns provide an opportunity to further raise public awareness and increase commitment to better address abuse of older adults in the community and in the political sphere. In 2002, the Mayor of Toronto dedicated the month of June as Elder Abuse Awareness Month. Alberta promoted a broad social marketing campaign on abuse of older adults in the Fall, 2003. The same year, Manitoba established "Expect Respect" initiative to help raise awareness of abuse and promote respect of older adults in the province.

Health Canada has been in the process of compiling an inventory of the training resources, updating an earlier resource publication.

6. What are the Key Prevention and Education Approaches Currently Being Used?

Most of the prevention and education work in Canadian communities has been achieved through pilot projects and work by volunteers. In many cases, when the pilot project ends or if the volunteer coordinator's position is lost due to budget cuts, the prevention work tends to end as well. In many parts of the country, prevention education is done "off the side of peoples' desks" (done by service providers when they have a little spare time). The community resources serving seniors are often stretched very thin because they have been seriously under funded; many operate without reliable core funding to provide the information or service.

There is also an ongoing need for education and training for a) service providers working with seniors and b) people in businesses that have older clients. These services represent large groups of individuals, and the turnover in their positions may be high. As a result, there is a need for ongoing education. There have been some efforts to integrate information about aging into curricula for nursing, social work, and gerontology in some college and university programs; however, the issue must compete with many other important topics. At present, abuse issues may only receive passing mention.

As Canada becomes more familiar with abuse and neglect in later life, we continue to learn about different aspects of the issue. Information which we previously believed was representative and accurate about the problem sometimes becomes outdated. So, not surprisingly, there is a need for current information, diverse approaches, and sustained effort to promote prevention and education efforts.

7. Where are Canadian Prevention and Education Efforts Currently Heading?

A 2003 snapshot picture taken of the progress that Canada has made in addressing abuse and neglect of older adults through prevention and education found the following:

a. There is a great need for prevention and education work

Education and training for both community and institutional settings takes time, money, resources, and support, but it is well worth it. Community partners are beginning to work to plan prevention and education strategies as part of developing their own community response network. However, they need the appropriate people and time resources, as well as the tools to be able to do this.

Employers’ and employees’ resources are often stretched. In a time of fiscal restraint, education and training may be treated as "luxuries", even though the training can give people needed skills and information about available community resources, and give people much more confidence in what they do in the long run.

At present, when the education opportunities occur for discussing senior abuse, they tend to be a “one shot deal”. In some settings, such as long term care facilities (e.g. nursing homes, personal care homes, homes for the aged, assisted living), the abuse prevention information not only needs to be provided as a "stand alone" topic, but also integrated into the overall quality of care approach. (24)

The need for ongoing efforts: An average community presentation on senior abuse reaches only a small number of people at a time, making it difficult to reach the approximately four million older adults living in Canada, and the hundreds of thousands of service providers. It can take many years of sustained effort to reach and inform the majority of seniors in a province or territory just once.

Prevention and education work is also affected by the important fact that seniors in our country speak many different languages and come from diverse cultures. Canada is also a culturally diverse country, and there are challenges in reaching the county's diverse cultures. Although having material available in other languages is useful, it is not enough by itself. The appropriate services need to go with it.

Abuse prevention information cannot be a "one shot deal". More people are heading into their "golden years" with each passing year. People tend to pay attention to information only as it becomes relevant to their lives. Prevention information should always be easily available to people, so it is there when they need it.

Community educators also find that basic awareness information is not enough for service providers. Increasingly service providers are seeking practical strategies, sets of indicators, helpful resources, and local contacts. There are often different levels of prevention and education materials needed, depending on whether the person will be making a referral to a community resource, or will be providing support and assistance to the abused or neglected older adults directly.

The need for a national prevention strategy: There is an increasing recognition that there are many similarities in the types of abuse or neglect being identified in diverse parts of the country, and that many of the issues, including prevention and education need to be addressed in a comprehensive manner.

b. There is more information available about legal rights than five years ago

Recently, more abuse prevention education has become available that focusses on improving older adults’ knowledge of their legal rights and of community resources. Much of this is being provided through community and public organizations such as

· BC Coalition to Eliminate Abuse of Seniors (BCCEAS);

· the Advocacy Centre for the Elderly (ACE) in Ontario;

· Older Adults Knowledge Network (OAKNET) in Alberta;

· DIRA and Ligne info-abus in Quebec; and public legal education in several provinces.

For example, OAKNET includes specialized information on the Internet about emergency protection orders. BCCEAS integrated abuse prevention information for into its rights information publication for senior renters, alerting them to different kinds of potential abuses from family, neighbours or housing staff and management. (25)

c. There is increasing reliance by government and service providers on using the Internet for prevention

The Internet can be a useful source of information on abuse and neglect for family and others who want to know more in order to help older adults. Free access to the Internet is available at some libraries and senior centres. However, this source of information is only one tool that is needed among many to help reach and inform seniors and other members of the public about abuse and neglect in later life. The Internet should always be considered an addition to (and not a substitute for) "people resources" that provide support and assistance to older adults.

Community research is very clear: when dealing with sensitive issues such as abuse, the personal approach for services is critical for seniors and others. (In other words, it is very important to have real people at the end of the phone line, and provide person to person contact).

The Internet has significant limits in getting information to older adults in an accessible and easily understandable manner. Only 13% of older adults use the Internet. This group of Internet users tend to have higher incomes, as well as higher education than most other seniors. (26)

Many seniors experiencing abuse or neglect may be among the least likely older persons to have access to the Internet, because of factors such as poor health or isolation. Some may lack the necessary technological skills, while others may not have an interest in using a computer, and some may have low functional literacy skills.

Contrary to popular belief, a significant percentage of frontline workers working with older adults do not have access to computers or the Internet at work. For many service providers, Internet access may only be available for administration personnel or the receptionist. As well, many service providers are still not comfortable using this technology in the workplace.

How good is the available information on abuse and neglect of seniors?

The quality of available Canadian information on abuse and neglect in later life can vary considerably. In the majority of cases, service providers or seniors' groups working in this area are relatively small organizations. Most concentrate their resources on helping seniors directly. They often have few personnel and little infrastructure or capacity to develop and promote their own prevention information, or to maintain and update websites. Even on government sponsored sites, the "new" information may be several years old by the time it is available on the Internet. There is a need for ongoing development of information that is kept up-to-date.

Information available on an Internet sites may not be easy to find, the site may not be designed with older adults in mind, or the information may not be written in a way that is understandable to most older adults.

d. There are some efforts to reach beyond the mainstream

Canada is becoming increasingly ethnically diverse. One in three older adults has an ethnic origin other than British, French, Canadian or Aboriginal.(27) There are many challenges in abuse prevention work because of Canada's diversity. Prevention education is much more than simply translating generic materials into another language. Successful multicultural prevention work involves:

• capturing the essence of abuse and neglect within the context of the particular culture;

• framing the messages and education approach in a way that is understandable to that community;

• finding respected leaders to introduce the issue in the community and begin the education work;

• moving at the community’s pace, taking the time to do it right; (28)and in many cases, working with one ethnic community at a time.

Successful multicultural work also requires appropriate community resources to meet the support needs of abused or neglected older adults whose first language is neither English nor French.

Education and awareness efforts must be tied to having easily accessible support and assistance available. Otherwise, that information does little to change the status quo, and it may leave older adults and others in the community with the belief that it is not possible to change the situation.

e. There are efforts to build connections to other areas of family violence.

More Canadian communities are beginning to recognize that abuse prevention information for older adults can and should be included in any family violence and violence against women prevention initiatives. Abuse can occur at any point in life. Abuse occurring earlier in life does not magically become "senior abuse", simply because the person turns 65.

* Several key ideas for this page are drawn from a special report prepared by M. Beaulieu, R. Gordon and C. Spencer. "An Environmental Scan of Abuse Neglect of Older Adults on Canada: What’s Working and Why?" prepared for the Federal/Provincial/ Territorial Committee of Officials (Seniors) and released in September 2003. The information has been tailored and updated for this site.

** If there are other Canadian prevention resources that you think the Network should know about, please contact the site webmaster [ contact information provided below].

References

(1) Ekos Research, (May, 2002). Public Attitudes Towards Family Violence: A Syndicated Study Final Report. Online at www.ekos.com/media/files/family31may02.pdf

(2) Ibid, p. 8.

(3) "Family Violence in Prince Edward Island, Background Information", October, 2001. www.gov.pe.ca/photos/original/hss_famviolback.pdf

(4) Bradford, B. (August 2000). Family Violence Survey 2000, Charlottetown, PEI: Bradford Associates.

(5) Podnieks E. & Baillie, E. (1995). Education as the key to the prevention of elder abuse and neglect. In M.J. MacLean (ed.). Abuse & Neglect of Older Canadians: Strategies for Change. (pp. 81-93). Toronto, ON: Thompson Educational Publishing.

(6) Reis, M. & Nahmiash, D. (October, 1995). When seniors are abused: an intervention model. Gerontologist, (5), 666-671.

(7) See for example, Prevention through education: action against financial abuse of the elderly M. MacDonald & C. Gendron, Notre Dame de Grâce (NDG) Community Committee on Elder Abuse, Montréal. Quebec Elder Abuse Conference.

(8) Mcdonald, L. & Collins, A. (2000). Abuse and Neglect of Older Adults: A Discussion Paper. Health Canada: Family Violence Prevention Unit. Online at: www.pch.gc.ca/progs/multi/assets/pdfs/sen-pub1_e.pdf

(9) Palmar, I. & Nascimento, O. (Fall 2002). Health Action Theatre by Seniors: community development and education with groups of diverse languages and cultures. Generations. 26 (3), 65-67. Information on HATS is also available online at: Also online: www.seniorstheatre.org/

(10) Abuse of Older Adults in Prince Edward Island, A Report of Priorities, December, 2001. www.upei.ca/~csha/research/abuse/Abuse_Report.pdf

(11) BC Health Files will have a brief information page on abuse by families available in 2005.

(12) In some communities, people that more seniors are interested in doing this kind of intergenerational connection building work, but find that school boards lack the resources to carry it out.

(13) See: www.onpea.org/Strategy/Communication/conference04/22Crichton.pdf

(14) Russell, D. & Ginn, D. (May 31, 2001). Framework for Action against Family Violence, 2001 Review. Online at: www.gov.ns.ca/just/Publications/russell/training.htm#N_9_

(15) BC/Yukon Society of Transition Houses (2002). Silent and Invisible: What's Age Got to Do With It?

(16) Ontario conferences ("Sharing Solutions: Defining the Future", November 2002 and "Building on Experience: Innovation on Change", 2004) (conference papers). Online at : www.onpea.org/Strategy/Communication/ConferenceProceedings.htm

(17) Quebec Conference on Elder Abuse: A Collective Response (conference papers). Online at: www.geronto.org/conference/en/default.htm

(18) Newfoundland & Labrador "Faces of Elder Abuse Conference" (conference papers). Online at: www.seniorsresource.ca/docs/Conference_Report.doc

(19) E.g., in the Fall, 2003 the focus of the annual general meeting for B.C. Coalition to Eliminate Abuse of Seniors focussed on housing and community care issues in the context of abuse. See: www.bcceas.ca/bcceas.htm

(20) (March, 2003). National Elder Law Section Activity Report. Report to the Canadian Bar Association. Online at: www.cba.org/CBA/Sections/pdf/Elder_Revised_ActivityReportMarch2003.pdf

See also the 2004 Activity Report www.cba.org/CBA/Sections/pdf/Report_Council_2004.pdf

(21) Bernard, C. & Ledoyen, A. (2001). The Exploitation of the Elderly: Towards a Tightened Safety Net. Report of the Consultation and Recommendations. Excerpts: Part Three: Corrective Measures, Quebec Human Rights Commission. (Cat.12.180-1.2) Recommendations 22 and 23.

(22) Canadian Centre for Elder Law Studies www.ccels.ca

(23) World Health Organization & International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (2002). Missing Voices: Views of Older Persons on Elder Abuse. (Geneva, Switzerland: WHO. Online at: www.who.int/hpr/ageing/MissingVoices.pdf

(24) See for example. L. Tremblay, (Centre gériatrique Maimonides) <<Prévention et interventions pour contrer la violence faite aux personnes âgées en institution>> Presentation to Quebec Elder Abuse Conference. www.geronto.org/conference/pdf/10%20Programme%20de%20prévention.pdf

(25) BC Coalition to Eliminate Abuse of Seniors, "A Roof Over My Head". www.bcceas.ca or www.bcceas.ca/romh.shtml

(26) Silver, C. (August 2001) Internet Use Among Older Canadians. Ottawa, ON: Statistics Canada. Online at: www.statcan.ca/english/research/56F0004MIE/56F0004MIE2001004.pdf

(27) Mata, F. & Valentine. J. (n.d.) Selected Ethnic Profiles of Canada’s Senior Age Cohorts. Ottawa, ON: Canadian Heritage, Strategic Research and Analysis, Multiculturalism Program, Citizens’ Participation and Multiculturalism. Online at: www.pch.gc.ca/progs/multi/assets/pdfs/sen-pub1_e.pdf.

(28) Ward-Hall, C. "Educating Seniors and Others about Abuse: A Decade of Experience from a Provincial Organization". Presentation to International Association on Gerontology. 17th World Congress, July1-6, 2001, Vancouver, B.C.