B.C.’s seniors advocate says more needs to be done to protect against elder abuse

The province needs to be doing more to protect seniors against abuse, says B.C.’s official seniors advocate.

Dan Levitt says one in every six seniors experience abuse or neglect, with most cases involving money.

“The types we hear most often from seniors contacting our office at the seniors advocate is financial abuse,” Levitt told CityNews.

“However, we know most victims do not report being scammed. They often feel ashamed or embarrassed.”

Perpetrators vary, Levitt says, with many being those close to them.

“[They] can be be scam artists that may contact a senior by phone, text, mail, email or even in person, but they can also, unfortunately, be a family member, a caregiver, a neighbour or a vendor,” he said.

Levitt is recommending a province-wide hotline for people to call and report elder abuse to deal with this issue, which appears to be getting worse.

“Reports of abuse and neglect to agencies in B.C. that support seniors are up over 100 per cent in the last five years,” he said.

CityNews spoke to a woman in her 60s who says she was a victim of financial abuse by her son. She says he took tens of thousands of dollars from her after she trusted him with access to her bank account.

The woman, who does not want her name shared, says she was living off this money and is now barely scraping by.

“I had to sell literally everything. I couldn’t live in my apartment anymore,” she said. “I had a mental breakdown.”

She says she never imagined this would happen to her.

“I’m living a life I never even imagined. Never in my life did I ever imagine living on welfare and collecting bottles just to be able to buy some milk.”

She says she got a pro bono lawyer to address the issue with her son, but before taking action, she backed out.

“I couldn’t imagine looking at my son and and going through that,” she said. “I had the opportunity. I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t. You tell me any parent that would look at their own kid in court.”

Levitt’s call to address the issue comes just ahead of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD), which is Saturday. WEAAD is an official United Nations day observed yearly on June 15, according to the Canadian Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (CNPEA).

“Since 2006, communities throughout the country and around the world have honoured this day to raise the visibility of elder abuse by organizing events to share information and promote resources and services that can help increase seniors’ safety and well-being,” the CNPEA said.

“Elder Abuse networks and other organizations are planning multiple WEAAD activities across the country to mobilize community action and engage people in discussions on how to promote dignity and respect of older adults.”

With files from Emma Crawford.