Elder abuse is harm done to an older person by someone in a special relationship to the older person.
Elder abuse includes:
Physical abuse such as slapping, pushing, beating or forced confinement;
Financial abuse such as stealing, fraud, extortion or misusing a power of attorney;
Sexual abuse as sexual assault or any unwanted form of sexual activity;
Neglect as failing to give an older person in your care food, medical attention, or other necessary care or abandoning an older person in your care; and
Emotional abuse as in treating an older person like a child or humiliating, insulting, frightening, threatening or ignoring an older person.
Elder abuse can sometimes also be a crime under the Criminal Code of Canada. Examples of possible crimes include:
Physical abuse such as assault, assault with a weapon or causing bodily harm, aggravated assault, sexual assault with a weapon, aggravated sexual assault, forcible confinement, murder or manslaughter;
Financial abuse such as theft, theft by holding power of attorney, stopping mail with intent, extortion, forgery or fraud;
Sexual abuse such as sexual assault with a weapon or aggravated sexual assault;
Neglect such as criminal negligence causing bodily harm or death or failure to provide necessaries of life; and
Emotional abuse such as intimidation, uttering threats or harassing telephone calls.