ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a critical overview of what is known about the problem of violence and the elderly in Canada. Data describing criminal violence among the elderly, like those relating to criminal violence more generally, are derived from three principal sources, namely: the agents of legal control, the victims of violence, and the self-reports of offenders. The contemporary construction of the problem of elder abuse combines and extends established images of elderly victims and violent families, serving to legitimate claims about the seriousness of the problem. The chapter argues that the problem of abuse of the elderly in domestic settings has recently begun to attract the attention of researchers, activists, and policy-makers. In addition to activity patterns, the segregation of age groups in Canadian society contributes to lower elderly-victimization risks. One of the most consistently reported findings in the criminological literature is the high level of fear of victimization among the elderly.
