World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

Today is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.

Those of you who follow this blog know that this is a topic of great importance to us here at Acart, as we are honoured to be the agency chosen to work with the Government of Canada on this important file. And we were further honoured with a Excel Award for the campaign's effectiveness in getting people to talk about — and even act on — this important social issue.



According to seniors.gc.ca:

Elder abuse is an important issue for Canadians. It is estimated that somewhere between 4 and 10 percent of seniors in Canada experience some kind of abuse. New research conducted by Environics for Human Resources and Social Development Canada has provided the following information * about Canadians' awareness of the issue of elder abuse.

• 96 percent of Canadians think most of the abuse experienced by older adults is hidden or goes undetected.
• 22 percent of Canadians think a senior they know personally might be experiencing some form of abuse.
• 90 percent of Canadians feel the abuse experienced by an older person often gets worse over time.
• Raising awareness among seniors about their right to live safely and securely is seen as the most important issue for governments when it comes to elder abuse with 9 in 10 Canadians (90.5 per cent) rating it as a high priority.
• 67 percent of Canadians feel older women are more likely to be abused than older men.
• 12 percent of Canadians have sought out information about a situation or suspected situation of elder abuse or about elder abuse in general.
• Almost 1 in 20 Canadians (5 percent) have searched the internet for information specifically about elder abuse issues.

Seniors.gc.ca has lots of information on understanding and identifying elder abuse, whether it's physical, psychological, financial, or neglect. If you're caring for an older adult, you might also want to watch the older ad (not ours) embedded below, and ask yourself if you are treating your elders with all the understanding they deserve:



It's time for everyone to face the reality of elder abuse.