BCIFV home > Opinion > June 13, 2002

For Immediate Release: June 13, 2002
Contact: Penny Bain, phone: 604-669-7055 or 1 877-755-7055 or
pbain@bcifv.org or www.bcifv.org

Opinion:
Ageism: No better word for the way the BC government treats older persons.

By Jill Hightower
Retired Executive Director of the BC Institute Against Family Violence

The issue of two older couples who have been separated due to funding constraints in the long-term care system has been portrayed in the media as heartbreaking, and by health care administrators and politicians as unavoidable.

In reality, it is more than the former and doesn't even begin to be the latter. It is the tip of the iceberg of systemic ageism in this province - and like all forms of discrimination, it is a form of abuse that all too often leads to other forms of abuse.

The term "ageism" was coined in the late 1960s by Dr. Robert Butler, who was involved in a public controversy over a proposed use of a high-rise block as public housing for older people in an exclusive area of Maryland. The local middle-aged residents of the area and building felt that the air conditioning and parking facilities attached to the building were necessary and appropriate for their own home comforts, but certainly not needed by the elderly, a pre-war generation who were to be given accommodation in the building. They saw the older people as an unsettling force that threatened the harmony of their local community.

So when we refer to ageism, we are seeing it as a process of systematic stereotyping of and discrimination against people because they are old. Negative and stereotypical perceptions of ageing and older persons are readily apparent in language, media, and humour. Jokes and ads that make fun of "little old ladies" and "little old men" are ageist - as are those phrases themselves.

Why do we discriminate against older people? Because we have all been taught that our value to society lies in our economic productivity and independence. Retired individuals are seen as unproductive and vulnerable. These attitudes become institutional prejudices that are often reflected in the policies and practices of governments and health authorities. Think of health care administrators who see providing home cleaning for an elderly senior on an extremely limited income as a luxury rather than a basic health necessity. Is it more okay for people who are old than young to live in dirty homes? Is it more okay for people who are incapacitated than able-bodied to be deprived of their freedom simply because they can no longer clean a house?

The answer in both cases must be a resounding "no" - yet many health care providers and politicians behave as if the answer were "yes." The fact is that many of those who make the decisions that affect older people have internalized negative attitudes toward their older clients, and these need to be addressed.

In BC, the spectre of ageism has nurtured the development of services for older persons without adequate concern as to whether the very provision of these services will diminish the recipients' abilities to make decisions controlling their own lives. This is abusive in that it violates their basic civil rights.

In the case of the forced separation of older couples, the ageism includes the stereotyping of older people as non-sexual beings: the separation denies them their human sexuality. Clearly, our society in general and those who fund and administer health services in particular don't expect older people to be interested in sex or emotional and physical contact and support. The only real consideration in separating them is a stereotype: "They're too old to need to be together in that way so ensuring that they can remain physically close is not a spending priority."

Premier Campbell has been quoted as admonishing health care administrators to treat their elderly clients "as if they were your mother." I would go one better: I would remind the premier, other politicians, health care administrators, and other bureaucrats that we are all growing older, every day. Time slips away very quickly. This means that if you are lucky enough to live a long life, someday you will be old.

From this perspective, it should be uncomfortable and frightening for any one of us to consider a time in our lives when we might need help. The very thought of what lies ahead in this era of cutbacks that affect anyone who is not economically productive - and seriously diminishes the ability of many who have been productive to continue being so - is certainly a form of emotional and psychological abuse.

It therefore makes good sense for every one of us to approach every older person we encounter with the kindness, consideration, and respect that we hope to receive in our later years - whether we are by that age fortunate enough to have the personal affluence and/or family to provide for us, or must depend on politicians and health administrators to treat us, not as they would treat their mothers, but as they hope one day to be treated themselves.

For what we sow, we just might reap.

- 30 -