Combatting mistreatment of older persons (also known as elder abuse), calls for a strong political priority (global, national and local), that is reflected in laws, policies and across programs. A recent paper (Mikton & al, 2022) showed that the global political priority of elder abuse is undoubtedly challenged by the inherent complexity of the issue, ageism, insufficient awareness about the topic, doubts and uncertainties about the estimated prevalence and its intractability. Therefore, the authors state that there is a need to reach a common understanding of the problem and the extent to which proven solutions exist, to untap the dual framing of the problem as a human rights issue and a public health problem, to combat ageism, to foster organisational and individual leadership and to sustain coalition building. Collaborative work between researchers, policy makers, practitioners and civil society (including older persons’ associations) is pivotal to both magnify and ensure the quality of the response to problem.

This symposium aims to share recent initiatives where there is (or has been) inter-influence between different stakeholders in the field of mistreatment of older persons. The session will illustrate how practical or scientific knowledge can be positively reinvested in policy making and legislation, program development, training of practitioners, and with involvement of older people, their families and carers. The papers provide relevant examples from North America (Canada), Europe (France, UK), and Asia (Hong Kong). Each of these countries has a unique approach to counter mistreatment of older adults and different aspects and examples of initiatives involving collaborative processes will be explored. While the papers from Canada and France will expose long traditions of collaborative work and raise a series of questions on the challenges of collaborative work (definitions of mistreatment, policies and laws, programs and collaborative response to specific cases of mistreatment), the ones from UK and Hong Kong will explore detailed projects, one on safeguarding of adults and the other on public awareness.

Marie Beaulieu Ph. D. (Applied Human Sciences), M.Sc. and B.Sc. (Criminology) is a retired and adjunct professor at the School of Social Work of the University of Sherbrooke (Québec, Canada) and an associated researcher at the Research Centre on Aging (RCA) (Integrated to the Public Health and Social Services of Québec). She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. In October 2022, she was recognised as one of the 50 world leaders of the Decade of Healthy Aging (2021-2030) by the United Nations. She is a member of the Senior’s Council of Canada. Between November 2010 and November 2022, she has held the position of Research Chair on Mistreatment of Older Adults financed by the Québec Government. From 2017 to 2023, she co-directed a World Health Organisation Collaborative Centre at the RCA specialised on Age-friendly communities and countering mistreatment. The principal focus of her 35-year + career has been countering mistreatment of older adults (and related issues such as criminal victimisation, insecurity, bullying), promoting a wellness care approach and ethics. She is involved in several national and international associations and networks, such as the International Network for Prevention of Elder Abuse, the International Longevity Centre of Canada, ….

 

Dominique Terrasson, a qualified social worker, was the project manager for “prevention and fight against mistreatment in the social and medico-social sector” within the French Ministry of Health, Solidarity and Social Affairs. She led various cross-disciplinary projects involving various ministries, public stakeholders, parliamentarians, professionals, associations and user representatives, to inform and contribute to the drafting of bills in the field of rights and protection of people in vulnerable situations. She drafted regulatory texts in application of these laws and proposed an action plan for a national strategy for the prevention of mistreatment. In 2017, she represented the French Minister for the Elderly at the UN, to present French public policies on the protection of vulnerable people, particularly regarding financial abuse. She has participated in various national and international conferences and maintained exchanges and relationships with researchers and practitioners (mainly from Quebec and Belgium) on comparative approaches and public policies. In 2020, she was awarded the National Order of Merit for her entire career. Now retired, she continues her commitment via an NGO carrying out an innovative action-research project on the collaboration of “field actors” in the analysis and concerted intervention in situations of mistreatment of people in vulnerable situations.

With a background in psychology and social work, Bridget Penhale has specialised in work with older adults since 1983 and has specific interest and expertise in violence, abuse, and exploitation of older people, particularly older women. As a qualified social worker, Bridget specialised in work with older people clinically and academically since taking up her first academic position in 1989.

Bridget has been recognised nationally in the UK for her work on adult safeguarding/protection and internationally for her work on elder abuse. In 2010 she received the International Rosalie Wolf Award for her work in the field of elder abuse research and practice. She has undertaken mixed-methods research on adult safeguarding and elder abuse in the UK and Europe and has acted as a consultant/advisor to the Department of Health (England) and the Scottish government, the European Commission and the World Health Organisation, as well as third sector organisations and NGOs.

Bridget’s last academic position was as Reader in Mental Health (Older People,) University of East Anglia (2010-20); since retirement she has held an Emeritus position at university and acts as an Independent Consultant concerning elder abuse, adult safeguarding and adult social care, including undertaking Safeguarding Adult Reviews.

Elsie Yan is currently a professor at the Department of Applied Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Her research focuses on inter-related areas in gerontology: elder abuse, resident aggression in long term care facilities, fear of crime among older persons, elder sexuality, dementia and family caregiving. Her research areas also cover aging experience of LGBT, and health behaviours in during the pandemic. She has been invited to share her work at various international organizations, including the United Nations, World Health Organization and Institute of Medicine. She was elected Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America in 2016. She is currently a member of the Abuse of Older People Intervention Accelerator, an initiative under the UN Decade of Healthy Aging.