Family Violence

• Author: Julien D. Payne/Marilyn A. Payne
• Pages: 90-130

 

FAMILY V IOLENC E

A. INT RODUCTION

Oneofthebest-keptsecretsofthetwentiethcenturyhasbeentheinci-

dence of abuse in supposedly intact families. It is only in the last f‌ifteen

yearsthat family violencehas been recognizedas a serious socialproblem

that encompasses the abuse of elderly parents or grandparents as well as

spousalandchildabuse.Untiltheearlys,when Dr.Kempecoined

the phrase “ battered child s yndrome,” physical injurie s to children were

almostinvariablyassumedtobecausedbyaccidentsinsideoroutside

the home, such as falling of‌f a bike, tumbling down the stairs, or get-

tingintoascaldingbath.Sexualabuse,ritualabuse,andincestwerenot

widely publicize d until the s. Spousal v iolence was formerly regarded

asaprivateaf‌fairandpolicewerereluctanttointerfere.eonlyform

of spousal abuse that would guarantee pol ice intervention and crim inal

prosecution was mu rder. But the exposure of spousal and child abuse in

the courts, in the press, and on television has triggered public concern

and the interest of provincial and federal governments in seeking solu-

tions to these social and family crises.



Family Violence

B. ABUSEOF THEELDERLY

Asadlyneglectedaspectofabusethathascometotheforefrontinthe

s is abuse of the elderly. Althoughsuchabusehasbeenfoundinsitu-

ations involving institutional care, it frequently involves younger family

members, often chi ldren or grandchildren.

e most common abuse of the elderly is f‌inancia l abuse, which is

often accompan ied by emotional abuse. e ret irement savings of an el-

derly parent or gra ndparent may be squandered by child ren or grandchil-

dren. Monthly pen sion or disabilit y cheques may be withheld. Children

and grandch ildren may “jump the g un” on prospective inher itances with-

out any thought for the impact of such conduct on the elderly pa rent or

grandparent. eft of money orpossessions represents more than  per-

cent of all ca ses of abuse of the elderly. In some in stances, resista nce by

the elderly person may result in physical abuse.

Ithasbeenestimatedthatatleastpercentandperhapsasmanyas

 percent of the elderly in Ca nada are abused f‌inanci ally, emotionally, or

physically by their children, grandchildren, spouses,or caregivers. Health

and Welfare Canada has estimated that more than , Canadians

over sixty-f‌ive years of age are victi ms of abuse. However, the incidence of

abuseislikelytobemuchhigherbecauseoftheeasewithwhichitcanbe

concealedbyfamilymembers.

e characteristics of the abused victim are similar to those identi-

f‌iedw ithrespect to the“ battered wifesyndrome.”Victims of elderly abuse

feel helplessand sense that they have no place to go in order to avoid the

abuse. ey often have low sel f-esteem, are dependent on the abuser, and

lack thephysical, emotional,and often f‌inancial ability to withdrawfrom

the abusive envi ronment. ey are fear ful of being abandone d or sent to

an institution; they are ignorant of their legal rights; and they are often

isolated or unable to communicate.

Abuse of the elderly is not a ne w social problem but its incidence is

increasing with the ageing of the Canadian population. In , . per-

centofthepopulationinCanadawereoversixty-f‌iveyearsofage.By,

it will b e more than  percent. A lthough federal and provi ncial govern-

ments, universities, and social agencies are beginning to show some in-

 SeegenerallyP. Lynn McDonald,JosephP.Hornick,GeraldB.Robertson,&Jean

E. Wallace,Elder Abuse and Neglect in Canada (Toronto: Butterwort hs, ).S ee

also Manitoba LawReformCommission,Report No.,AdultP rotection and

Elder Abuse, December .

 CANADIAN FAMILY LAW

terest in def‌ining the boundaries and potential solutions to the societal

problem of abuse of the elderly, no concerted ef‌for t has yet been under-

taken to come to grip s with it. ere is evidence, however, of increa sed

awareness of the need for change. A parliamentary study on abuse of the

elderly in recommended that federa l funding should be avai lable to

provide shelters for elderly vict ims of abuse. It als o recommended t hat

the federal government should work wit h organizations responsible for

professional standards and for the education of physicians, nurses, social

workers, bankers, and law yers so that abuse of the elderly cou ld be iden-

tif‌iedanddealtwith. Itfurtherrecommendedthatalarge-scalefederal

studyshouldbeundertakentoascertainthescopeoftheproblemandthe

meansofdealingwithit.

One federally-fu nded project in the mid-s sought to develop an

educationprogramandapoliceresponseprotocoltodealwithabuseof

the elderly. is project was a joi nt venture of the Nepean Police a nd the

Queensway Carleton Hospital. Its objectives were:

i) tosensitizepoliceof‌f‌icerstotheproblemofelderabuse;

ii) to develop a protocol for police intervent ion;

iii) to devise policies and procedures that will provide more constructive

responses from t he criminal justice sy stem;

iv) to develop a nd monitor a mu ltidisciplin ary and collaborative consul-

tation and case review service between the police and social agen-

cies;

v) to de velop educationa l programs for pol ice of‌f‌icers to dea l with t he

three Rs of intervention — na mely, Rec ognition, Respon sibility, and

Respons e;

vi) to recognize the specia l needs of racia l minorit ies, aborigi nal com-

munities, dif‌ferent linguistic groups, and persons with disabilities;

and

vii) to standardize terminology.

Much more is needed! Soc ial attitudes towa rds the elderly must un-

dergoaradicalshift. Wemustceasetoquestiontheircompetencesim

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ply because t hey are old. Institut ionalized prejudice against the elderly is

amply demonstr ated in thre e judgments of the Supreme Court of Canada

 Canada, House of Com mons Committee, Breaking the Silenc e on the Abuse of

OlderCanadians:Everyone’sConcern(June ).

 e f‌irst seniors’ shelter i n Canada was opened in east-end Montreal in : e

Ottawa Citizen ( Aug ust ) B .