Family Violence

• Author: Julien D. Payne - Marilyn A. Payne
• Pages: 93-133



 

Family Violence

A. INTRODUCTION

One of the best kept secrets of the t wentieth centur y was the incidence of

domestic violence in supposed ly intact famil ies. It is only in the last t wenty

years that fami ly violence has been recog nized as a ser ious social problem

that encompasses the abuse of elderly p arents or grandparents as we ll as

spousal and ch ild abuse.

In the words of MacDonald J, of the Nova S cotia Supreme Court, in MAB

v LAB:

Domestic violence most com monly refers to a situat ion where an adult

intimate or former i ntimate part ner attempts by psyc hological, phy sical,

nancia l or sexua l means to coerce, domi nate or control the other. is

violence reveal s a pattern of conduct that may be ver bal, physical or sex ual.

e conduct targets a nother person’s self-estee m and emotional we ll-being.

It can include humi liating , belittl ing, denig rating, i ntimidati ng, control-

ling or isolati ng behaviour. It can include physic al assaults, sexu al assaults,

sexual hu miliation, sleep de privation, extort ion, economic coercion, thr eats

to harm or ki ll, destr uction of propert y, threatened or attempted su icide,

litigation ha rassment and liti gation tactics, m anipulat ion of childre n, of

 See, general ly, Canada, Depar tment of Justice, Fami ly Violence Initiat ive, online: ww w.

phac-aspc. gc.ca/ncfv-cn ivf/family violence/initi ative_e.html. A nd see Linda C Neil son,

“Enhanci ng Safety: Wh en Domestic Violence Cas es Are in Multiple Leg al Systems

(Crimina l, Family, Child P rotection): A Family Law, Dome stic Violence Perspect ive, d

ed” (), online: www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/-lf/famil/enhan-renfo/index.html;

Joseph Di Luca, E rin Dann, & Breese Dav ies, “Best Pract ices Where ere Is Fami ly

Violence (Crim inal Law Perspect ive),” online: www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp- pr/cj-jp/fv-vf/

bpfv-pevf/index.html.

  

relatives, of invest igation agencies a nd helping personnel , survei llance,

monitoring, a nd stalking. e abuse a nd violence in intimate part nerships

has a complex reciproc al dyna mic not found in violence t hat occurs be -

tween strangers.

B. ABUSE OF THE ELDERLY

A sadly neglected aspect of abuse that has come to t he forefront since the

s is abuse of the elderly. Although such abuse h as been found in situa-

tions involving ins titutional care, it more frequently involves younger fa mily

members, often child ren or grandchildren.

e most common abuse of the elderly is na ncial abuse, which is often

accompanied by emotional abus e. e retirement savings of an elderly parent

or grandparent may be squandered by children or g randchild ren. Monthly

pension or disabil ity cheques may be with held. Child ren and grandchi ldren

may “jump t he gun” on prospective inheritances without any thought for

the impact of such conduct on the elderly pa rent or grandparent. eft of

money or possessions represents more than  percent of a ll cases of abuse

of the elderly. In some instances, resista nce by the elderly person may result

in physical abuse.

It has been estimated t hat at least  percent and perhaps as ma ny as 

percent of the elderly in Canad a are abused nancially, emotional ly, or phys-

ically by thei r children, g randchild ren, spouses, or careg ivers. Health and

Welfare Canada est imated that more than , Canad ians over sixty-ve

years of age are vict ims of abuse. However, the incidence of abuse is likely to

be much higher because of the ea se with which it can be concealed by fam ily

members.

e character istics of the abused v ictim are sim ilar to those identi ed

with respect to the “ battered wife s yndrome.” Victims of elder abu se feel

helpless and sense that they have no place to go in order to avoid the abuse.

ey often have low self- esteem, are dependent on the abuse r, and lack the

physical, emotiona l, and often nancia l ability to withdraw from t he abusive

environment. ey are fear ful of being abandoned or sent to an institution;

they are ignorant of thei r legal rights; and t hey are often isolated or un able

to communicate.

  NSSC  at para .

 See, generall y, P Lynn McDonald, Joseph P Hor nick, et al, Elder A buse and Neglect in Can-

ada (Toronto: Butterwort hs, ); see also Man itoba Law Reform Comm ission, Report

No , Adult Protec tion and Elder Abuse ( Winnipeg: e Com mission, December  ).

Chapter : Family Violence 

Abuse of the elderly is not a new soci al problem but its incidence is in-

creasing with t he aging of the Canadian popu lation. In , . percent of

the population of Can ada was over sixty-ve year s of age. By , it wil l be

more than  percent. A lthough federal and provincial gover nments, univer-

sities, and social age ncies are beginning to show some interest in de ning the

boundaries and potent ial solutions to the societa l problem of abuse of the

elderly, no concerted eort has yet been under taken to come to gr ips with

it. ere is evidence, however, of increased awa reness of the need for change.

A parliamentar y study on abuse of the elde rly in  recommended that

federal fundi ng should be available to provide shelters for elderly vict ims of

abuse. It also recommended that the federal government should work w ith

organizations respon sible for professional standard s and for the education

of physicians, nurses, soc ial workers, banke rs, and lawyers so th at abuse of

the elderly could be identied a nd dealt with. It further recommended t hat a

large-sca le federal study should be undertaken to a scertain t he scope of the

problem and the means of deali ng with it.

C. NATURE OF SPOUSAL A BUSE

Although the ex pression “spousal abuse” ha s been traditiona lly conned to

persons who are marr ied, it is also freque ntly used to refer to conduct be-

tween divorced spouses or person s living in a cohabitational relationsh ip.

“Spousal abuse” ta kes various for ms, but all involve domin ation or the im-

proper exercise of power or control over a spouse, d ivorced spouse, or quasi-

marital pa rtner. Spousal abuse m ay involve physical, sex ual, psycholog ical,

or economic oppression.

Physical abuse involves the appl ication of force. It includes beating, s lap-

ping, punchin g, kicki ng, choking , stabbing, shooting , and throwing objects

at the victim. Even when physic al assaults are intermittent or isolated, t hey

may have a long-term impact bec ause the threat of repetit ion is never far

 House of Commons Sta nding Committee on He alth and Welfare, So cial Aai rs, Seniors

and the Statu s of Women, Breaking the Silence on the Abu se of Older Canadians: Ever yone’s

Concern (Ottawa: e Co mmittee, June ).

 e rst seniors’ shelt er in Canada was o pened in east-end Mont real in : Ottawa

Citizen ( Aug ust ) B.

 See Canadian Net work for the Prevention of E lder Abuse, “A Draft Fra mework for a

National Strat egy for the Prevention o f Abuse and Neglect of Old er Adults in Canad a: A

Proposal ” ( November ), onli ne: www.cnpea.ca /Strategy Framework .pdf;

and “Outlook  : Promising Appro aches in the Preventi on of Abuse and Neglect of

Older Adults in C ommunity Setti ngs in Canada,” onl ine: www.cnpea.c a/Promisin g

Approaches Final .pdf. See, generally, the Ca nadian Centre for E lder

Law, online: w ww.bcli.org/ccel.