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For the love of our parents Essay

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Elderly abuse is defined as “any deliberate action or lack of action that causes harm to an older adult.” (Brownridge 55) It may take the form of: physical, financial, neglect, or psychological abuse. (Maclean 7-23) Statistics show that abuse towards the elderly is a substantial problem: A 1989 survey of 2000 elderly persons from private house holds found that 4% of the people reported being abused. (Health Canada) This is the equivalent of 98,000 elderly people in Canada. Financial abuse was the highest with 60,000 elders being affected, and psychosocial abuse is second affecting 30,000 elders. These shocking statistics are, believe it or not, understated due to lack of research. Elderly Canadians will always be a component of our …show more content…

The different laws vary from province to province. (Sebold 119) The definition of elderly abuse is not specifically stated at the federal level and there are no mandatory standard or regulations to deal with elderly abuse. If there is no federal standard, then there is no way to ensure that the few laws that exist are effective, and if those laws are not specific to the elderly then that leads us back to the drawing board to find a better way to make the laws effective. As well as the laws not being specific enough, the enforcement of the laws needs to be improved.

The enforcement of the laws that exist is weak, pathetic even, and is severely ineffective. It is difficult for police to find sufficient evidence to charge an abuser when using the Criminal Code as a defense against elderly abuse. The evidence needs to prove the abuser is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and because the criminal code s not specific to the different types of elderly abuse, adequate and seemingly relevant evidence is hard to find. Most of the laws require the victim seek help, but in most cases victims may be unable to contact the police due to physical or mental disability, and fear of repercussion. Also, if the court denies the Protection order the police cannot do anything to help the victim. All of these factors limit the way the police can enforce the laws and help the elderly against abuse. There are several steps that need to be

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