The population in Canada is aging, and as a result, more Canadians than ever will find themselves in Assisted Living facilities in the coming years. According to Employment and Social Development Canada, seniors (over 65) are the fastest growing population group in Canada, and that trend is expected to continue for decades to come. The majority of seniors in Canada live in private homes, either with a spouse, alone, or with others such as family members, but the trend is toward more seniors living in collective dwellings such as nursing homes (Statistics Canada: Living arrangements of seniors). Additionally, the older a Canadian gets, the more likely he or she will end up in a special care facility. Prices for private care are high, and public facilities can be overcrowded with overworked staff – but public or private, in-home or out, the risks of elder abuse are always present. When we think of elder abuse, we often imagine it taking place in a cold, unfeeling nursing home, as those are the cases most reported in the news. But the reality is that elder abuse can be perpetrated at home or in a care facility, by a caregiver, spouse, adult child, or other person related or unrelated to the senior. According to the Alberta Elder Abuse Awareness Network, approximately 23,000 Alberta seniors are currently experiencing some form of abuse, including:- Physical abuse
- Sexual assault
- Psychological abuse
- Emotional abuse
- Neglect, resulting in such things as bedsores
- Withholding or providing improper or inadequate food (malnutrition, dehydration)
- Withholding or providing improper or inadequate medical care or medication (including prescription theft or misuse)
- Human rights abuses
- Financial abuse, which can include fraud, embezzlement, misuse of a senior’s money, and anything generally intended to deprive a senior of his or her funds or steal his or her identity
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