This morning on the news, we heard the sad news of yet another older adult being financially and emotionally abused.
Elder abuse can take various forms, including financial abuse, physical abuse, psychological abuse, medication abuse and neglect. It can be perpetrated by various people: today’s story was about a stranger turned employee, but often, it is done by a family member.
So what can be done? Although elder abuse is never a victim’s fault (the fault lies with the abuser), there are steps that older adults can take to try to prevent or to help stop abuse. A key factor in keeping able to take these steps is understanding how the law can help. Everyone has the right to know about the law and how it affects them. To know about the law is not a luxury. It is only when people know about the law that they are able to use it protect themselves and others. While our legal system alone cannot completely stop elder abuse, it is a valuable component of any strategy to stop abuse.
At CPLEA, we have various resources that can help. To learn more, read our Blogosaurus Lex post Elder abuse: Resources that can help.
For the full list of CPLEA publications see pub.cplea.ca.
Although elder abuse is not a pleasant topic, if we want to maximize the chances of our aging well it is certainly one worth learning about.
