Maltreatment of seniors and other persons of full age in vulnerable situations

What is maltreatment?

“Maltreatment is when an attitude, word, act, or lack of appropriate action causes harm or distress to a senior or an adult in a vulnerable situation, whether intentionally or unintentionally, in a relationship where there is an expectation of trust. Maltreatment can come from a person, a community or an organization.”

What is the definition of a person in a vulnerable situation?

It means a person of full age whose ability to request or obtain assistance is temporarily or permanently limited due to constraint, disease, injury, or disability, which may be physical, cognitive or psychological in nature, such as a physical or intellectual disability or an autism spectrum disorder.

Forms of maltreatment

• Violence: To bully a person or use force and/or intimidation to make them act against their will.
• Neglect: Failure to show concern for a person, by not taking the adequate actions to meet their needs, for example.
• Intentional maltreatment: The mistreating person wants to cause harm or knows that they are causing harm.
• Unintentional maltreatment: The mistreating person does not want to cause harm or does not understand that they are causing harm.

Note: It is important to assess the signs and situations to avoid drawing hasty conclusions or labelling people.

For more information on maltreatment, including information on the seven types of maltreatment, visit this website quebec.ca.

Whom to contact to report maltreatment?

The law and what it entails

• Act to combat maltreatment
• Politique - Lutte contre la maltraitance envers les aînés et toute personne majeure en situation de vulnérabilité - CISSS de la Côte-Nord (French only)
• Concerted intervention processes (French only)
• Video - Concerted intervention processes to combat the maltreatment of seniors and other persons of full age in vulnerable situations (French only)

Support and assistance resources

(Non-exhaustive list)

• Autorité des marchés financiers (information on financial abuse)
• Curateur public (persons' incapacity)
• Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse
• Centre d'aide aux victimes d'actes criminels (CAVAC) Côte-Nord
• Centre d'assistance et d'accompagnement aux plaintes (CAAP) Côte-Nord
• Centre de prévention du suicide Côte-Nord (French only)
• SOS Violence conjugale

Training

Maltreatment training is available to:

• staff of the health and social services network
• external partners

Other relevant documentation

• Well-treatment: Cadre de référence - Favoriser la bientraitance envers toutes les personnes aînées dans tous les milieux et tous les contextes (French only)
• Reference guide: Guide de référence pour contrer la maltraitance envers les personnes aînées (French only)
• Persons with disabilities: Guide - Intervenir en contexte de maltraitance de personnes aînées ayant des incapacités (French only)
• Detection tool (French only)
• Government action plan: Plan d'action gouvernemental pour contrer la maltraitance envers les personnes aînées (French only)

Research centres

• Université de Sherbrooke: Research Chair on Mistreatment of Older Adults
• Centre for Research and Expertise in Social Gerontology (CREGES)
• Cégep de Drummondville (French only)