Preventing elder abuse & neglect

Preventing the abuse and neglect of older adults is everyone’s responsibility!

Preventing the abuse of yourself: Some important things you can do to protect yourself from being abused are:

• Stay as active as you can – go on outings with friends; volunteer; join a gym; visit neighbours

• Maintain your friendships and maintain contact with loved ones

• Have any cheques that you may receive, i.e., pension cheques automatically deposited to your bank account

• Have bills, such as your telephone bill, automatically paid from your bank account

• Get legal advise when creating, and/or have a lawyer draw up a Power of Attorney for Property and/or Power of Attorney for Personal Care for you

• Only grant attorneyship (as in a Continuing Power of Attorney for Property and/or a Power of Attorney for Personal Care) to someone, or some people, that you know you can trust, and whom you know will respect your wishes

• Write into your Continuing Power of Attorney for Property instructions regarding when it is to come into effect

• Attend educational seminars/sessions that are being offered in your community regarding the abuse of older adults, your rights, senior’s safety, etc.

Preventing the abuse of older adults:

• Educate yourself about the abuse of older adults and the rights of older adults

• Become involved in your local abuse of older adults Committee or Network and encourage the development of educational sessions for older adults on their rights

• Learn about the rights of seniors and explain these rights to older adults that you know

• Listen to older adults – take time when speaking to them about their current situation and offer suggestions regarding how they might keep themselves, and their assets, safe

• Take an older friend out to lunch, visit them, call them to see how they are doing – in short, keep in touch older adult family members and friends

If you are an older adult who is being abused, or you know an older adult who is being abused:

Information regarding how you might remove yourself from the abusive situation safely, may be found in the Fact Sheet: Safety Planning for Older Persons (Ontario Seniors Secretariat website)

For further information please also see:

The link to “Preventing Abuse” on the Canadian Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse’s Website