World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

“My world…. Your world… Our world – free of elder abuse.”

-       International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse

This week, we’re changing the pace a little bit, to recognize and spread the news about an important day that is happening this Friday, June 15, 2012 – World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.

According to Canadian research, “between four and 10 per cent of older adults experience one or more forms of abuse or neglect at some point in their later years, from someone they trust or rely on.”  Due to under-reporting or withheld information about abuse and neglect that may occur towards older adults, the data collected to report the statistics above is considered to only be the “tip of the iceberg.”

In 2006, the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (INPEA) launched World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on June 15, to emphasize the need for people from across the globe to come together and understand what it is, how to recognize it and how it can be prevented. 

This was created in honour, and in recognition of, the Madrid Plan of Action on Ageing, established in April 2002, that identified the “mistreatment of older adults is a violation of internationally recognized human rights.”   

It’s been estimated that “between 183,000 and 456,000 seniors in Canada are experiencing, or have experienced, abuse or neglect in later life,” Government of Manitoba said in a recent report.

It’s time to stand up and speak out against elder abuse in all of our communities.  Make a change, and you can make a difference.  

For more information on elder abuse, visit Seniors Canada.

Did you know?

• Only about one in five cases of abuse come to the attention of community agencies or authorities
• Abuse is not limited to older adults of any particular culture, ethnic group, social background, or religion
• Spousal abuse can “grow old.”  It can start earlier in a relationship and continue on later in life
• Older women are the victims in about two-thirds of the cases of abuse or neglect that come to the attention of community agencies

This very moving video reflects the varying degrees of elder abuse that occur (sometimes unknowingly) all over the globe. Please take a moment and watch: An Age for Justice: Confronting Elder Abuse in America