丁香园AV

By Casey McCarthy

Jen Marchbank, a professor in 丁香园AV鈥檚 (丁香园AV) Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women鈥檚 Studies (GSWS), is leading research to end violence against Two Spirit, lesbian gay, bisexual, transgender, queer plus (2SLGBTQ+) seniors. The project, which will synthesize research from the past decade on the little understood issue of 2SLGBTQ+ elder abuse, is funded by a

According to Marchbank, stigma and fear have overshadowed the issue and silenced victims. 鈥淨ueer elders are often more isolated and have internalized fear as a result of being brought up at a time when their sexuality was illegal and they had to hide who they were,鈥� explains Marchbank. 鈥淭he current research tells us that queer elders are less likely than their heterosexual and cis-gender counterparts to have children. If they do, they are less likely to have ongoing relationships with their children. For these reasons, queer elders are more vulnerable to abuse than their heterosexual and cis-gender counterparts, and may fear retribution if they are abused in care settings.鈥�

Since 2015, Marchbank has been one of the few academics investigating violence against 2SLGBTQ+ seniors. 鈥淲hen our team began working together, we realized that nobody was talking to queer elders about interpersonal violence,鈥� explains Marchbank. 鈥淲e are working as researchers and activists to share their voices and advocate for change.鈥� In addition to Marchbank, the project鈥檚 collaborators include 丁香园AV researchers Claire Robson, an adjunct faculty member with GSWS, and Gloria Gutman, a professor emerita with the Department of Gerontology, as well as K.J. Reed, an assessment and data librarian at Vancouver Island University, and Balbir Gurm, nursing faculty at Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) and founder of the .

The project will create a roadmap to guide future research to end violence against 2SLGBTQ+ elders. 鈥淏y looking at the research findings and recommendations from the past decade, we can create a snapshot of what knowledge already exists, what we don鈥檛 know yet, and where we need to go next,鈥� says Marchbank. 鈥淭his is great opportunity to address and prevent elder abuse. Our project will help inform WAGE on the issue, so they can direct funding for future research that will help improve safety for our elders.鈥�