A report on elder abuse in Perth County (2009)
Download Breaking the Silence – Report on Elder Abuse (2009) (PDF)
It’s estimated that between 4 and 10 per cent of Ontario seniors experience some type of abuse, and the estimates are no different for Perth County; if anything, the problem takes on even greater significance here since Perth has the highest per-capita ratio of seniors in the province.
The trouble is, like elsewhere in the country only a small number of elder abuse incidents are reported to local agencies and authorities. Clearly, the majority of offences here go either undetected or unreported — or both. That’s because victims are often ashamed, dependent on their abusers for care, afraid of
retaliation, abandonment or being institutionalized. Sometimes it’s because they don’t know who or where to turn to for help. More often, they’re simply unwilling or unable to report the abuse.
