Aging, ageism and abuse : moving from awareness to action

Preface vii Contributors ’ biographies xiii 1 Social issues and social policy response to abuse and neglect of older adults 1 Patricia Brownell Social issues related to abuse and neglect of older adults 1 Social policy response to abuse and neglect of older adults: challenges 5 United States public policy responses 9 International public policy to address senior abuse 11 Conclusion 13 References 14 2 Abuse in later life: when and how does gender matter? 17 Jill Hightower Defining elder abuse and violence against women 18 Two inter-linked silos 19 Quantitative and qualitative research: a snapshot 22 Qualitative research 22 Policy and legislation 23 Conclusion 25 References 26 3 The invisible problem of abused older men 31 Jordan I. Kosberg Elder abuse as a woman’s problem 31 Findings regarding the abuse of older men 32 Special groups of vulnerable older men 34 The invisibility of abused older men 35 Explanations for the abuse of older men 37 Failure to use community services 38 Combating the abuse of older men 39 Conclusion 41 References 42 4 Abuse of lesbian, gay, transgender, and bisexual elders 45 Chris Morrissey Impact of history 46 Internalized homo/trans/biphobia 46 vi Contents Interpersonal abuse 46 Exploitation 47 Ageism in LGTB communities 47 Homophobia  abuse and neglect 47 Heterosexism  systemic abuse and neglect 48 Policy issues 49 Conclusion 50 References 50 5 Union perspectives on abuse prevention in long-term care: current situation, future possibilities 53 Marcy Cohen Union context and history 54 Individual level factors: the union role 55 Facility- and system-level issues 56 Facility-level actions 58 System-level actions 60 Conclusion 62 References 62 6 Abuse of older adults: an Ontario criminal justice perspective 65 Patricia Fleischmann Framing the problem 65 Definitions and terminology 66 Financial abuse of older adults 66 Current status of abuse and neglect cases in the criminal justice system: an Ontario perspective 71 Recommendations for justice practitioners 77 Conclusion 78 References 79 7 Seneca College’s design for social change course: an example of successful collaboration 83 Paul Shecter, Patricia Fleischmann The first class 83 Objective of this chapter 84 The evolution of the design for social change course 84 Projects brought to the course 85 Purposes of the course 85 Contrast between some typical agency procedures and the DFSC class procedures 88 The “bottom-up” research phase 96 Client’s role as facilitator 97 Who owns the final projects? What has happened to them? 97 Conclusion 99 References 99