Preventing Sexual Abuse of Seniors in Nursing Homes
According to the 2016 census, Canada’s senior population (age 65+) outnumbered children for the first time since Confederation. While much public attention has been paid to the scourge of childhood abuse, it’s important to remember that Canada’s seniors are at as high of a risk of being sexually abused as the rest of the population.
The vulnerability of some seniors is aggravated by the fact that some seniors live away from their loved ones in specialized care facilities, where they are more prone to isolation and depression. With more than 5 percent of the senior population residing in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, the chances of sexual abuse going unnoticed for a period of time is unfortunately much higher than it has been I the past.
Our country’s seniors are entitled to respect and protection from something as heinous as sexual abuse. Learning to recognize the signs of senior sexual abuse, as well as how to stop it in its tracks, is important to ensuring that our country’s seniors continue to live healthy and fulfilling lives even after retirement.
Signs of Senior Sexual Abuse
Unlike children, who may not have the vocabulary or maturity to describe what is happening (or has happened) to them, seniors are often too aware that they are being taken advantage of. The shame and guilt of being a survivor of sexual abuse is something they might have been aware of for decades—meaning that once it happens to them, they will understandably feel trapped in their experience and not want to speak out against their abusers.
