Environmental Scan of Inuit Elder Abuse Awareness

In 2010/11 Pauktuutit published an environmental scan on Inuit elder abuse awareness. It was intended to review existing assessment tools and other resources for potential use in Inuit communities. Secondary outcomes were intended to both raise awareness among Inuit about this issue as well as inform policy and decision-makers. The scan indicates that the problem of Inuit elder abuse is largely hidden, manifested in complex social relations that are in part traditional and in part the result of modern socio-economic realities. The problem is widely recognized as financial abuse perpetrated by grandchildren. Poverty and lack of housing are important contributing factors. The RCMP and others identify drug and alcohol abuse as critical factors. Underlying the abuse is unresolved intergenerational trauma rooted in the residential school experienced and other historical events such as forced relocations that have normalized violence and undermined traditional Inuit values.