Status of Women committee  No, you're not mistaken. I certainly appreciate the importance of the criminal framework for prosecuting in circumstances where there has been a crime. I'm not convinced that this is always the response the older person wants when she has been victimized--often because the person who's harming her is a very close person in her family.

Status of Women committee  Yes and no. My perspective is that elder abuse is not a single Criminal Code crime...so that legislation generally applies to a victim and an offender regardless of age. We have noticed that there's an absence of discussion about the age of victim in terms of sentencing, so maybe there could be consideration of whether age-related vulnerability is an aggravating factor in terms of sentencing.

Status of Women committee  In terms of prioritizing recommendations, I think one of the easiest steps is to map out existing resources. Resources change, so that needs to be maintained. That becomes a challenge. Providing a road map of all the different resources available in different communities.... We've tried to do that nationally, but you want to get kind of infinitely specific in terms of looking at specific communities, because a national organization sometimes is not going to be helpful to somebody in Prince Edward Island, for example.

Status of Women committee  Yes, if I may. For me, that hearkens back to our recommendation number five. People in communities who are concerned need practical information on locally available resources. I think often people care about the older person in their community, but it's hard to take that step forward when you actually don't know what to offer by way of assistance.

Status of Women committee  Part of what I'm speaking to in that recommendation is that people working in different sectors are often the front-line people. If an older woman has gone into a place where she's reaching out for assistance--it may be at a bank, in a hospital where she presents with injuries, or even when someone makes a call to police--these sectors are well positioned to offer support and to refer the woman to the right people who can actually help.

Status of Women committee  In terms of the scope of research we've done thus far on sentencing where a crime involves an older adult victim, I can't speak to specific length of sentencing right now. What I would say is that actually we found that the age of the victim was rarely mentioned in terms of decisions about appropriate sentencing.

Status of Women committee  No, not that I'm aware of.

Status of Women committee  My research is academic. I don't work with vulnerable women one on one. What we notice, when people talk to us about cases or when we look at cases, is that there could be a dynamic of dependency, especially with an older woman who's not the primary breadwinner and doesn't actually have control over the finances.

Status of Women committee  Yes, absolutely. In terms of certain contexts, if there's no access to legal aid, for some women there can be no access to legal options. Access to a family lawyer is going to be crucial to that woman's independence, especially in a domestic violence context where there are financial and property issues.

Status of Women committee  There's a link in a number of ways, but one of the most important ways in which there is a link is that financial abuse may be what is causing the neglect. If there's a situation where an adult has allowed someone else to have control over their finances through a power of attorney, for example, you may see an older person who is missing basic necessities that you think a person with their level of income should have, such as food.

Status of Women committee  I'd like to begin by thanking the committee for this opportunity to present today. My presentation will focus on the recommendations contained in our 16-page brief, which we provided last week. The discussion of recommendations will link to features of the legal framework in Canada, as well as to key themes emerging from elder abuse research.