Abused Chinese, South Asian seniors trapped by language barriers, immigration rules

A seniors advocate says many Chinese and South Asian elders experienceunique challenges when it comes to abuse and more resources are needed to support them.

Krista James of the Canadian Centre for Elder Law saysseniors from those communities are sometimes bound by barriers ranging fromlanguage toimmigration policy.

She spoke with CBC Radio One's The Early Edition as part of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.

Her non-profit organizationstudied the issue by speaking with front-line workers with police, women's shelters and settlement organizations.

James said not knowing English is an obvious challenge for seniors seeking help, but what's lesser known is thateven translated materials aren't always helpful.

"Especiallyfor older women from immigrant communities,they may have never had the chance to learn to read, so print tools have a fairly limited impact," said James.

The VPD launched a new educationalinitiative on Wednesday called S.A.F.ESafety Awareness forElders. The campaignfeatures seniors of Asian descent butis presented in English.

Elderly women and isolation

In addition to challenges with language, James saywomen who arebrought to Canada to be caregivers to their grandchildrencan face additional barriers.

They become isolated because of the job.

James said Canada's immigration policy doesn't help by"trapping"seniors andfinancially tying them to theirsponsors for decades andmaking themineligible for somepublicly-funded assistance.

In order to raise awareness amongst the Chinese and South Asian communities on these issues,she recommends abandoning the commonly-used termelder abuse.

Instead, she says their research found "healthy aging, respect in the family, safety" weremore useful in opening up dialogue.

She noted more resources are needed, but not necessarily more police arrests because most seniors don't want their abusers sent to jail.Instead, "they just want to feel safe."

With files from The Early Edition

To hear the full story listen to the audio labelled:Elder abuse in Chinese and South Asian community