A Healing Approach to Elder Abuse
The Restorative Justice Approaches to Elder Abuse Project is a collaborative of seven community agencies in the Waterloo region of Ontario. In 2000, the Project began a three year effort to design, implement and evaluate a restorative process to be used in cases of elder abuse. Arlene Groh, the project coordinator, describes the work of the Restorative Justice Approaches to Elder Abuse Project in this article.
The Restorative Justice Approaches to Elder Abuse Project is a collaborative of seven community agencies in the Kitchener-Waterloo area of Southwestern Ontario. The collaborative was awarded a three year Ontario Trillium Foundation Grant to design, implement, and evaluate a restorative justice approach to address elder abuse. The project, now in its third year, is being evaluated with funding from the Law Commission of Canada and the National Crime Prevention Centre.
The impetus for this project was the in-field experience of the project partners. It was their shared experience that abuse is hidden and resource options, especially legal/justice options, declined. One reason given is that older adults do not want to risk losing their relationship with the trusted person who is abusing them. A collaborative was formed to develop a process that would address the harm done and at the same time focus on the healing and restoration of the relationship that was violated.
In the first months of the project, the foundation was laid to design a restorative justice process appropriate for abused older adults. The project team consulted with community partners, seniors, multi-cultural communities, and faith communities to develop a requisite approach. An extensive literature review was completed with no established model being found. The project team struggled in an attempt to create one model that would meet the seniors’ needs. Eventually, it was decided that this was not possible. The processes needed to be flexible to allow the team to select a restorative justice tool appropriate to each incident. However, the practice needed to be guided by a shared set of values. A consensus was reached on the following guiding principles:
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Autonomy: People determine and control their own affairs.
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Safety: People have the right to live in safety and security.
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Confidentiality: People determine what personal information is to be shared with others.
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Dignity and Respect: People are respected.
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Access to information: People have the right to information that allows them to make meaningful and informed decisions.
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The least restrictive means: Interventions are the least restrictive to individuals. (Adapted from Gallagher et al, Victoria Elder Abuse Project, 1993)
Our operational definition of abuse is:
Elder abuse is the mistreatment of an older adult by someone that they should be able to rely on: a spouse, a child, another family member, a friend, or a paid caregiver.
Our mission is to provide an opportunity for change and healing to people affected by elder abuse. This is done by providing a safe place for the people affected by elder abuse to come together and talk about why the abuse happened, how to repair the harm, and what can be done to prevent it from happening again. This service is free of charge.
Dr. Michael Stones, Lake Head University, is directing the evaluation. This includes outcome measures based on adherence of principles and values. Results are pending. However, anecdotal feedback is positive.
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A family doctor who attended a 3-hour circle felt it was “ the most productive hours he had spent with his patient”.
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An elderly client whose power of attorney had initiated an estate auction was pleased that an understanding was reached with her niece about the control of her finances and property, that her niece apologized for the sale of property and that they were able to understand each other again.
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A circle facilitator said: “The circle process builds a powerful community that allows people to be honest with themselves and others. In an almost magical way it opens up possibilities that were never previously discussed in the family. It also helps people to recognize that there is support for them. I remember hearing one older woman tell her circle: “ I never knew that so many people loved me.”
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A circle participant said: “In the circle everyone is valued. I was amazed how the circle got rid of barriers that are normally present in conflict situations. Also, very diverse comments came together at the end to create a unique and balanced perspective on the future. I found it very empowering.” (circle participant)
This innovative approach to address elder abuse respects the values of older adults including the value placed on family relationships. It is anticipated that this approach will become a model that will be replicated across the province.
More resources:
September 2003
