For the Love of Our ParentsEssay Preview: For the Love of Our ParentsReport this essayElderly 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 society, and due to new medical breakthroughs they will be an increasing sector of the population. More specific laws, stricter enforcement of existing laws, and strategies for increased research and awareness need to be implemented in order to combat the increasing problem of elderly abuse in Canadian society.
One major problem with the few existing laws is that they are not specific to the elderly. If an elderly person is abused the abuser may be charged with several sections of the criminal code. For example, physical abuse may be a form of assault or sexual assault, and financial abuse may be an offence such as theft or fraud. This is a smoke-screen for the lack of stricter laws; the government may argue that there are laws to protect the elderly. The different types of elderly abuse are not specified; therefore many types of abuse may not be covered. This leads to a problem when trying to convict perpetrators of elderly abuse; the person behind the act may not receive a suitable conviction, allowing them to get away with the crime they have committed. Also, when elderly abuse is not specified in the criminal code it is not seen as a serious enough offence, leading people to believe that they will get away with perpetrating this appalling act. An Emergency Protection Order (Oak Net) may be obtained to provide immediate protection of an abuse family member. This also is not specific to the elderly, and the order may be refused if a family member has guardianship over the elderly. The family member may argue that the elderly person is unable to make a coherent judgment, and the order may be denied. If the Order specifically recognized the types of elderly abuse psychological abuse would be taken into account, legally, and the Order would be more effective in combating elderly abuse. 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 taken in order to fight elderly abuse in Canada.
Increased funding and awareness towards elderly abuse will aid in the fight against elderly abuse. The government, both federal and provincial, needs to set aside a reasonable amount of funding toward abetting to decrease elderly abuse. With this government funding, the establishment of a current research program into the different types of elderly abuse along with the prevalence of each type need to be put in place. This will provide the government with current statistics, so the major problem areas will be identified. Also the standardization of the definition of elderly abuse at the federal level will ensure this problem is dealt with equally in the entire country. Alongside the research, the public, elderly, and health care
The proposed funding level for all research, which is more than most, will be one hundred and fifty dollars per capita. The overall goal is for the Canadian government, both federal and provincial governments, to spend over one hundred thousand dollars per person on research.
The proposed funding is currently $400 million. This is more than enough to fund health care and dental care for seniors, mental health, and emotional support services for the aged. This is an important step to providing funding to a country where many are homeless, drug and alcohol dependent, and low income
the aging population. The research, though, is far from being done. The existing health care system is a slow and ineffective, costly, and poorly managed system that should be abolished. It is not likely to be fixed at a later date. The funding level is too low and unhelpful for the many people still without access to healthcare, because it will be an issue for the rest of the next twenty years. The public needs to see that a policy which is based on research is a feasible solution, not a necessity.
The proposed funding level would be $35.1 million per year for Canada’s two medical research institutes.
There will also be more than enough funding for other federal and provincial programs. These include hospital care, disability and survivor support programs, social housing for the disabled and seniors, and educational programs.
There will be greater access to affordable, quality medical care for elderly.
The funding level will also include federal funds aimed at research on aging:
Research funding can be used to build a better society and for people to develop different roles that correspond to their needs with the benefits to society. In this way, Canadian research will be more connected and sustainable. But, it will be less sustainable for many, and the future depends on finding a better way to care for all Canadians. To achieve the ideal that is needed to meet these needs, we need federal and provincial assistance to help build a stronger, more resilient and better prepared future for Canada.
The proposed funding is part of the Government of Canada’s plan to increase healthcare spending to $600 million a year in the 2018–2023 fiscal years. This is in stark contrast to the current $711 million proposed by the government of Canada as part of that plan in 2018. The current funding level is not enough to cover needed national needs.
This means the Canadian Institutes of Health Research will not expand or increase funding to the public’s needs in the next several years, despite the fact that the government and other stakeholders have indicated the government is making steps to increase funding, in some cases significantly. This proposal will benefit Canadian public health and research as it will help Canadians better find healthy alternatives to their current healthcare policy, rather than taking the path of austerity to which they already have been exposed by past political and economic