Abuse of older women : Mauvais traitements envers les femmes âgées : rapport du Comité permanent de la condition féminine

ABUSE OF OLDER WOMEN Report of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women Marie-Claude Morin, M. P. Chair MAY 2012 41st PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION Published under the authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons SPEAKER’S PERMISSION Reproduction of the proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees, in whole or in part and in any medium, is hereby permitted provided that the reproduct [...] For example, witnesses emphasized the importance of making children more aware of the issue: Education, of course, must also include youth-focused programs, for it is the children and youth of today who will truly change the face of elder abuse by challenging the beliefs that this is acceptable behaviour.7 Recommendation 1: That awareness programs be targeted across the age spectrum, including adu [...] B. Gaps 1. Data on Incidence and Prevalence Scholars, advocates, staff of service and police organizations, and federal officials all told the Committee that the lack of a common definition across disciplines and professions and the dearth of data with respect to the incidence and prevalence of elder abuse posed challenges in creating greater awareness among their own groups and in the wider publi [...] As one witness pointed out, the number of older women is and will continue to be greater than the number of older men,39 so that even if the rate of victimization is the same, the number of abused women will be greater than the number of abused men. [...] In addition to specific sections of the Code that might apply depending on the nature of the abuse, the Committee heard about the section that permits judges to take the age of the victim into account in sentencing.