Family Violence

• Author: Julien D. Payne, Marilyn A. Payne
• Pages: 90-129

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 

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 t hat may be verbal , physical or sex-

ual. e conduct ta rgets another pers on’s self-esteem and emot ional well-

being. It can inc lude humiliat ing, belit tling, d enigratin g, intimid ating,

controlling or isol ating behaviour. It can include physic al assaults, se xual

assaults, sex ual humi liation, slee p deprivation, e xtortion, e conomic co-

ercion, threats to h arm or kil l, destruc tion of propert y, threatened or at-

tempted suicide, lit igation harassment and l itigation tactics, ma nipulation

of children , of relatives, of invest igation agencies a nd helping personnel ,

surveil lance, monitoring, and st alking. e abuse and v iolence in intimate

partnersh ips has a complex reciprocal dyna mic not found in violence that

occurs between strangers.

 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/init iative_e.htm l.

  NSSC  at para .

Chapter : Family Violence 

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 Canada a re abused nanci ally, emotionally, or

physically by their children, grandchi ldren, spouses, or careg ivers. Health

and Welfare Canad a has estimated t hat 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 h igher because of the ease with which it c an be concealed

by family 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.

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.

 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  ).

  

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

from the victi m’s mind. Domination established t hrough a single act of v io-

lence can produce long-term emotiona l abuse that is rein forced by subse-

quent threats, isolation, deg radation, or economic control.

Spousal homicide accounts for  percent of all homic ide deaths in Canada.

Four times as many women as men a re killed by their spouses or par tners.

 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, e Ca nadian Centre for Eld er

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

 For insight into ve ba sic types of inter- parental violenc e and corresponding p atterns

in parent-c hild relationsh ips, see Janet R Johnston & Li nda EG Campbell, “ Parent-

Child Rel ationships in Domest ic Violence Families D isputing Custody ” (July ) :

Family and Conc iliation Cour ts Review .