Many seniors silent on financial abuse: Report
It is one of the more chilling statistics in a new report about the financial abuse of seniors: in almost 40 per cent of incidents across Canada, the perpetrator is not a stranger or a company, but rather a family member such as an adult child or grandchild.
Most of the time, “no one sets out to abuse elders,” says Catherine Ludgate, manager of community investment at Vancity.
Instead, patterns settle over time, she says. “It might start with buying mom’s groceries and slip into taking advantage of her (when someone says) ‘I’m doing this, so I am entitled to fill up my gas tank with her credit card.’ ”
Complicated, familial relationships are part of why more than a third of seniors in B.C. who experience financial abuse choose not to tell anyone, according to Vancity, which Thursday released Suffering in Silence, a survey of 400 seniors aged 65 and over across Metro Vancouver and the area around Victoria.
Just over 20 per cent say they didn’t know who to tell. Some 15 per cent say they are embarrassed; 10 per cent fear making a situation worse, or fear some kind of retaliation. “What’s worrying is the silence.” Much of the abuse happens in relationships where there is a need for help with financial or day-to-day matters, says Ludgate, adding that sometimes inter-generational living arrangements are another factor.
More people are aware of financial abuse, but Ludgate says, “there is also the ‘other-ing’ of it, that it happens, but not to me. The results change when there is some prompting and then you hear, ‘Oh right, that is happening to me.’ ”
Indeed, there is a large gap between unprompted reports of financial abuse, at only three per cent, compared to reports of abuse when seniors are presented with specific scenarios, at 36 per cent.
The Seniors Abuse and Information Line (SAIL) run by non-profit organization Seniors First B.C. received almost 4,700 reports of financial abuse between 2014 and 2017.
Most focused on exploiting for shelter or money, pressure to lend money or change a will, misuse of power of attorney or bank accounts and credit cards, as well as cashing pension or other cheques without permission.
The greatest increase in volume of calls was found in reports of abuse related to real estate (such as pressure to sell or transfer a property or outright theft) from 72 in 2014 to 200 in 2017 — a 178-per-cent increase. In total, SAIL says 12 per cent of financial abuse reports it collected during this time were related to real estate.
Despite numbers such as these, advocates agree much abuse can be hard to quantify or capture.
“We get referrals that have nothing to do with financial abuse, but then, it’s only after talking to someone for 15 to 20 minutes, it gets disclosed that this might be the case,” says Suzi Kennedy, operations manager at 411 Seniors Centre Society.
Most queries would more easily be categorized as being about income benefits, taxes and housing, she says.
“It’s about choosing the language so it focuses on feelings such as being afraid or dismayed rather than asking outright about abuse,” says Kennedy.
More than 80 per cent of seniors told the Vancity survey they could not name any support services available for seniors who may be victims of financial abuse.
The most disheartening part is these figures haven’t changed significantly since the last time Vancity looked at the issue three years ago, says Ludgate.
“We had hoped with all the efforts of agencies and advocates and financial institutions, we would have seen more change. It’s given us pause for thought.”
Recognizing the dynamics, these groups might consider “framing access points” for educating seniors in a different way, says Ludgate.
Instead of offering courses about “recognizing financial abuse” and expecting seniors to get a family member to drive them to hear this, a title such as “protecting your longterm wealth” might be more effective, he says.