Blogue - RCPMTA

By Heather Campbell

The concept of institutional elder abuse is often associated with the mistreatment, exploitation and rights violations experienced by residents in care home settings. However, older adults in correctional facilities can also be victims of these institutional harms, and elders with dementia are particularly vulnerable if they become caught up in the criminal justice system.

Under the current system, a criminally accused individual with dementia faces a long, difficult and dangerous journey. From time to time, for example, we hear tragic reports of people with dementia languishing in prison or forensic hospitals. In early 2016, for example, a 53-year-old Yukon man with severe dementia had been in jail for six weeks awaiting a fitness to stand trial assessment. He was eventually found unfit, but remained in jail while he waited for a risk assessment to be conducted at a forensic hospital.

By Allison Jones

thm van

The forum, held at Simon Fraser University (SFU) downtown Vancouver on February 18, was well attended by LGBTQ seniors, health care providers, academics, students and other interested participants. It was the second in a series of five town hall meetings on elder abuse, hosted by Dr Gloria Gutman, presented in partnership by the Simon Fraser Gerontology Research Centre, and Quirk-e (the Queer elder riting kollective) and was held at .

Dr. Gutman gave opening remarks, introducing the audience to the reality of abuse in the LGBTQ communities and to the forms it takes, whether it be financial, physical, psychological or emotional. In some case, elder abuse presents itself as self-neglect, when an older person has no one to look after them, they may begin to neglect themselves to the point where it is considered a form of self-abuse.

Dr. Gutman received a grant from BC’s Ministry of Health to work with Quirk-e. Quirk-e members worked with Surrey Youth for a Change to write, act, direct and film three shorts (each no more than three minutes in length) with different scenarios depicting elder abuse. The Vancouver audience, which included staff from LGBTQ serving organizations, was enthusiastic. The films, although dealing with difficult topics, were refreshing in that they not only represented LGBTQ seniors, they were acted by LGBTQ seniors themselves. The shorts depicted abuse as complex and situational, with many different tensions intersecting, including family loyalty, internalized homophobia, control and gender conformity, and physical and psychological violence.

The town hall featured a number of Senior and LGBTQ senior-serving organizations including THiP, Vancouver Coastal Re-Act, SAIL (Seniors Abuse & Information Line), PRISM, QMUNITY, Alzheimer’s Society of BC, the Office of the Public Trustee and Dr.Gutman herself commenting on how LGBTQ elder abuse affects the LGBTQ seniors community. These town halls will happen or have already happened in Surrey, Prince George, Kelowna and on Vancouver Island. The group working on the grant has designed a number of LGBTQ elder abuse posters to raise the issue’s visibility and include information on how to report and document elder abuse when it occurs with LGBTQ seniors.

Please contact the Seniors Coordinator at QMUNITY or 604-684-8449 for more information.

par Danie Gagnon, Gestionnaire de projet, Association des foyers de soins du Nouveau Brunswick

La question de l’agression de la part des résidents, dans le contexte de l’abus contre les aînés, est une question délicate. Nous savons que les victimes ne peuvent pas être blâmées pour le mal commis contre elles, mais il est aussi reconnu que l’agression peut être un facteur contribuant à la maltraitance. Bien que la sensibilisation aux mauvais traitements des aînés et l’application de techniques de soins axées sur le résident comme mesure de prévention soient nécessaires, une autre question nécessite une réponse : comment protéger et soutenir les travailleurs de soins de santé? Screen Shot 2015 11 02 at 12.49.22 PM