Raising Awareness and Addressing Elder Abuse in the LGBT Community: An Intergenerational Arts Project

Abstract

This paper reports on a collaborative digital arts project conducted with LGBT youth and seniors in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, funded by the B.C. Council to Reduce Elder Abuse and conducted by faculty members and a doctoral student from Simon Fraser University. In the project, youth and seniors worked together to produce the first Canadian materials on LGBT elder abuse-three digital videos and five informational posters. We report on the methods used to produce and disseminate the materials, and as we reflect on the project's outcomes, we consider both the challenges and potential of digital literacies in this context.

Not that old person: Older people’s responses to ageism revealed through digital storytelling

“…While there is limited research about digital storytelling to prevent elder abuse, it has been used as a methodology for intergenerational exchange (Hewson et al, 2015) and indigenous Elders' witnessing and healing (Adelson and Olding, 2013). Further, research in Canada has shown the effectiveness of digital storytelling in raising awareness of elder abuse in LGBT communities (Robson et al, 2018), and recent Australian research has used digital and visual storytelling to research intergenerational needs in age-friendly communities (Cook, 2019). The OPERA Project builds on this research to use co-designed digital storytelling both as a research methodology to gain evidence about older people's experiences of ageing and ageism, and as a community practice to centre older people's experiences and voices in the prevention of age-related discrimination.…”

Older LGBTQ People and Religious Abuse: Implications for the UK Regulation of Care Provision in Later Life

“…The abuse of older people is generally under-researched [67] especially in relation to those from minority groups [68]. There is very little research in relation to older LGBTQ people and abuse [69][70][71][72][73][74]. Although there is a growing body of research on LGBTQ intimate partner violence [62,63,[75][76][77][78] this primarily focuses on younger people, with, little research involving older LGBTQ people.…”

Social determinants of mental health and care access among 2SLGBTQI people: Highlights from community-engaged research.

“…Elder abuse faced by 2SLGBTQI older adults remains an understudied area, while elder abuse prevention efforts have begun to recognize the need to better serve and address the situations of 2SLGBTQI communities. Further research is needed to build on existing knowledge and resources (e.g., Gutman et al, 2020; Pang & Rideout, 2022; Robson et al, 2018), including in Canada, to increase understanding of 2SLGBTQI older adults’ situations and needs, and to identify prevention and support strategies. In collaboration with Elder Abuse Prevention Ontario, in 2022, we held a community conversation event focused on elder abuse and financial abuse in 2SLGBTQI communities and published an open-access brief that highlighted existing research, reported back on event findings, and provided resources geared towards 2SLGBTQI older adults (Pang & Rideout, 2022).…”