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home / 世界杯决赛2022

b.c. advocate reports rise in abuse and neglect of seniors

advocates believe abuse and neglect cases against seniors are under-reported due in part to a fragmented reporting system.

by cheryl chan

dec 9 2021
read time 2 minute read
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b.c. is experiencing a significant increase in reported cases of senior abuse and neglect, and more seniors may be falling through the cracks due to a fragmented reporting system, says the province’s seniors advocate.
isobel mackenzie released a report wednesday that says over the last three to five years there has been a 49 per cent increase in reports of abuse, neglect and self-neglect against seniors, a 69 per cent rise in reports of violent crime to rcmp, and a 49 per cent increase in financial abuse cases reported to vancouver police.
the increase is especially worrying because the current reporting and tracking system is fragmented, causing experts to believe the figures are under-reported.
“there is growing concern that it is increasing yet remains hidden and invisible to most of us,” said mackenzie at a news conference.

the report titled hidden and invisible: seniors abuse and neglect in british columbia examined existing legislation, programs and policies. it also included a survey among more than 1,500 british columbians and consultation with 109 organizations serving seniors in 25 communities.

it found a morass of agencies and resources tasked with tackling seniors’ abuse and neglect, but most of them are not well-known with different contact information and no formal mechanism for the organizations to talk to each other, or share, track and monitor cases.
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a quarter of british columbians say they have witnessed senior abuse and neglect, but many do not know how to report it, said the report. it found that there are 10 “pathways” to report incidents of senior abuse and neglect compared to a streamlined reporting system for child protection, which centralizes calls to one provincial number.
that could partly explain why there are six times as many reports made for children and youth each year compared to the adult protection system, even though the groups are roughly the same size, said mackenzie.
mackenzie said it is impossible to determine how much of the rise in reported cases is due to increased reporting and how much is an actual increase in cases. but she said risk factors for vulnerable seniors such as poverty, isolation and loneliness are on the rise. also compounding the situation are b.c.’s aging population, new financial scams, and covid-19.
among mackenzie’s recommendations are a public awareness campaign to educate people on the signs and symptoms of abuse, neglect and self-neglect of seniors and a single b.c. phone number people can call to report cases, handled by people trained in adult protection.
the report also recommended implementing provincial standards of practice, policies and front-line training and consistent data collection and definitions to record, track and monitor cases, and calls for a review of the adult guardianship act, the 20-year-old legislation responsible for protecting vulnerable seniors.
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mackenzie said having some of these recommendations in place, such as increased awareness of vulnerable seniors in society and having a single point of contact with one phone number, could have helped seniors who were affected by last summer’s heat dome which claimed the life of at least 595 people , the majority of whom were age 70 and older.

“the public will make that call if they know who to call,” she said.
chchan@postmedia.com
twitter.com/cherylchan

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