Elder Abuse Day brings awareness to forefront
Abuse of seniors — often by their own family members — is real and needs to be talked about much more often, say local crisis workers.
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Abuse of seniors — often by their own family members — is real and needs to be talked about much more often, say local crisis workers.
“It is such an under-reported issue, mainly because of guilt and often because it involves their own family members,” said Barb Iacono, manager of community programs for Family Services Windsor-Essex.
It is estimated up to 10 per cent of seniors in Ontario, ages 55 and up, will at one time experience issues of abuse, she said. The numbers could be as high as 24 per cent given that so many cases go unreported by victims.
Most often, cases investigated by Family Services involve issues of financial abuse in the Windsor area, Iacono said.
But other forms of abuse can include psychological, neglect, physical and sexual abuse.
To help bring more attention to the issue, the United Nations has designated June 15 as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day to focus global attention on the problem of physical, emotional and financial abuse of elders.
An event to honour the day locally was hosted Friday by Family Services at Harrowood Retirement Home in Harrow that included Grade 3 students from St. Anthony elementary school who each took turns to talk about a senior person important in their lives.
“This event we do every year to heighten awareness and provide education to people on how this is a serious issue that needs to be addressed,” Iacono said.
Anyone who is a possible victim or is aware of an elderly person suffering a form of abuse is urged to call a service provider or police, she said.
“We do take referrals from the community and they can be anonymous,” Iacono said. “We will go meet with the victim, identify whether there is an issue and help them mitigate a situation so that (abuse) is stopped.”
Criminal misappropriation or theft of funds also could lead to police being called, she said.
Family Services also makes available information to educate seniors on their rights and how to protect themselves.
Anyone wishing to provide information on possible victims of elder abuse can call Family Services at 519-966-5010 or toll-free at 1-888-933-1831.
There is also more information about elder abuse on the agency’s website at www.familyserviceswe.ca.
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