FEWO Committee Report

Supplementary Opinion of the New Democratic Party of Canada

The New Democrat Members of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women are concerned that the final report on the Abuse of Older Women does not reflect the scope of the testimony heard from the 30 witnesses who testified before the committee. The committee heard about widespread dangers faced by senior women in Canada and federal actions that are needed to address the complex problem of abuse against older women. While we agree in general with the recommendations in the report, some recommendations listed in the final report do not accurately describe what was recommended to the committee by expert witnesses. Instead, the recommendations in this report exclude directives to the federal government to take the concrete steps necessary to end violence against elder women.

In contrast to the report “Abuse of Older Women,” New Democrats would like to draw attention to a report published in 2011 by a bi-partisan ad-hoc parliamentary committee on Palliative and Compassionate Care, “Not To Be Forgotten: Care of Vulnerable Canadians”. The third section of this report is entirely focused on senior abuse and while many of the witnesses interviewed were the same as the ones heard by the Status of Women Committee, New Democrats find that the palliative and compassionate care report and its recommendations are thorough, accurate and faithful to testimony and expert advice. It is our recommendation, therefore, that this report on palliative and compassionate care be tabled in the House of Commons and that the government should respond to the recommendations made in this report. 

Federal Elder Abuse Strategy

New Democrats echo the sentiments expressed by the palliative and compassionate care committee’s report. We believe that responding to elder abuse requires coordinated, collaborative and comprehensive actions to be taken in all sectors of society, including all levels of government. The federal government is well positioned to spearhead such an initiative as they did with the 2009-2011 Federal Elder Abuse Awareness Initiative (FEAAI).

The committee heard that multiplying factors such as immigrant status, aboriginal status, disability, and living in a rural community can make women more vulnerable to abuse. In many cases, the Federal Elder Abuse Awareness Initiative did not reach out far enough to marginalized women. Culturally appropriate awareness campaigns and services must be provided to senior women, particularly in cases of elder abuse. Disabled women of all ages, being more vulnerable or dependent, experience extremely high rates of abuse that are similar in kind to the crimes of elder abuse. 

New Democrats recommend that the government develop a National Elder Abuse Prevention Strategy in collaboration with the provinces, territories as well as law enforcement agencies, non-governmental organizations and community organizations.

We also recommend a National Elder Abuse Prevention Strategy be inclusive of the special needs of marginalized women and that organizations representing these women be involved in the development of the strategy.

Prevention of Elder Abuse

Redressing the factors that cause elder abuse is a crucial step towards eliminating violence against seniors. While seniors from every culture, background, income and gender are the victims of abuse, the committee heard that social determinates such as income and social status, gender, education and housing security can render a person more or less vulnerable to abuse. Older women are more often the victims of abuse not because they are necessarily physically weaker than their male counterparts, but because senior women in Canada suffer from significantly higher rates of poverty and housing insecurity.[1]

The committee heard about the lack of support to caregivers in Canada, 90% of whom are women.[2] Many informal caregivers juggle caring for elderly relatives, young children and work, leaving them overstretched. Many caregivers do not benefit from government initiatives aimed at caregivers because either their income is too low or they are not eligible for employment insurance benefits because they do not have enough hours accrued.

The committee also heard about “Elder Abuse Consultants”.[3] In Manitoba the consultants’ functions include education, awareness and training presentations; working to develop community response/monitoring teams to ensure that resources and supports are available and accessible; and acting as a consultant to other government departments and community groups.

New Democrats recommend that the Old Age Security (OAS) and Guaranteed Income Supplement transfers be immediately increased to lift all seniors out of poverty and that the age of eligibility of OAS remain at 65.

We also recommend that the federal government, in consultation with the provinces and territories, provide a more flexible and generous Employment Insurance Compassionate Care Benefit to permit family members to take up to 6 months leave from work to tend to relatives near the end of their lives, up from the current 6 weeks; and

Introduce a new Caregiver Benefit, modeled after the Child Tax Benefit, to assist low and middle-income families in tackling the costs of everyday needs while caring for family members;

We further recommend that the federal government work with the provinces and territories to develop and support Elder Abuse Consultants.

Service Provision

Since the FEAAI ended, witnesses identified a great need to not only continue the awareness campaigns it began, but also to move beyond awareness in order to coordinate much needed service provision to Canadian seniors who are facing abuse and violence.  Awareness programs across the country succeeded in creating a significant increase in reporting the crimes of elder abuse and therefore an increased demand for services.[4] However, dedicated service providers across the spectrum, from healthcare to legal advocates, lack the funding and resources to respond to this growing need and victims are not getting the help they request.[5] It is an unbalanced approach for the government to bring awareness of elder abuse into focus and not to provide support for treatment, service provision and prevention. The committee heard that both Nova Scotia and Ontario, among other provinces, have a toll-free senior abuse hotline whose calls predominately come from senior women seeking help.[6]

New Democrats recommend that the federal government work with the provinces and territories to support organizations, agencies, NGOs and specialists who are dedicated to responding to and preventing senior abuse.  

We also recommend that the federal government work with the provinces and territories to support a pan-Canadian toll-free elder abuse hotline.

Research and Statistics

Canada needs statistics on senior abuse. A lack of current data was identified by many witnesses as being a serious problem.[7] In order to understand how to treat a problem, it is necessary to understand the specific nature of that problem. Without up to date research and information, service providers are disabled. The Conservative government has hobbled the capacity for research in Canada by scrapping the mandatory long form census, ending the Status of Women Agency’s Independent Research Fund and by restricting the Women’s Program from funding research or advocacy projects. The last study of prevalence of elder abuse was done over a decade ago in 1999.

New Democrats recommend that the Federal government support Statistics Canada and other expert organizations to complete a current study prevalence of elder abuse in Canada and collect other relevant data on an on-going basis.

Housing

New Democrats firmly believe the autonomy of all women, including seniors, is key to redressing systemic gender discrimination. Lack of housing robs senior women of their status and autonomy.

Housing insecurity was identified by many witnesses as a prevalent problem for seniors, particularly for women.[8] Statistically, women of the older generation have substantially less personal income than their male counterparts. In 2008, the average income of a senior woman was $24,100 while the average income of a senior man was $38,100.[9] Women`s dependency on family members is therefore greater. When a woman is being abused by a spouse or other family member she must have a safe way to leave her home. There are not enough women’s shelters and secondary housing and social housing designed to accommodate the needs of senior women.[10]

New Democrats recommend that the government work with the provinces and territories to establish a National Housing Strategy to ensure secure, adequate, accessible and affordable housing for all Canadians that would also meet the needs of senior women.  

We also recommend that funding be restored to the homeowners Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program and the Affordable Housing Initiative to increase the supply of affordable housing, in partnership with the provinces and territories;

Judicial Advocacy

Witnesses who work in the legal justice system on behalf of seniors identified major problems with the way cases of seniors abuse are mishandled at all stages, from first response to prosecution.[11] Ageist attitudes, misunderstanding the nature of elder abuse and a lack of age appropriate services was identified as being prevalent within the legal justice system. Judges often throw out cases of senior abuse because lawyers and police are not trained on how best to proceed with them. This problem was also identified as paramount in the Palliative and Compassionate Care Committee report:

“We need to develop adequate judicial measures enabling us to successfully prosecute cases of elder abuse. This requires educating judges, prosecutors and police. It also requires developing forensic psychological and financial expertise in the area of elder abuse, with experts capable of giving effective testimony in court. An attitudinal shift is needed in the legal culture which recognizes the seriousness of elder abuse and no longer tolerates it.”[12]

New Democrats recommend that police, lawyers and judges be trained in best practices regarding elder abuse and that the federal government support legal aid in order to increase senior women’s access to the legal justice system.