Respecting Elders: Communities Against Elder Abuse (RECAA) is an elder abuse initiative that operates in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.[1][2]

History and mission

RECAA is a community organization founded in 2003.[3] Its members visit seniors groups to perform theatre and discuss elder abuse. They also participate in events such as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.[4]

RECAA works with ethnocultural communities in Montreal, and aims to fight elder isolation, situations of dependence on the family, and the lack of support that might otherwise help elders in situations of abuse.[5] They advocate for communication, reciprocity, and respect in a way that challenges gerontologically-based intervention models, which do not take into account the specific dilemmas of cultural communities.[6]

Their brochures, available in Vietnamese, Tamil, Hindi, Portuguese, Italian, French, and English, define elder abuse as the physical, psychological and financial exploitation of an elder.[7]

Forum Theatre

RECAA's strategy is to foster dialogue is through Forum Theatre, a variant of the Theatre of the Oppressed created by Augusto Boal. RECAA's troupe of non-professional actors also works with a larger network of 100 or so members who attend their events and meetings.[6] They visit seniors’ groups and act out non-verbal scenes of elder abuse in theatrical performances.[5][7] The goal of the performances is to engender discussions of alternative outcomes for older adults.[3] Participants are invited to play the role of a person in trouble or difficulty and to find a solution.

Digital technologies

In 2011, as a response to what it perceived as a shift towards mediatization in the communications environment, RECAA began incorporating digital technologies in its work.[8] RECAA uses digital technologies to create an archive of its work and to reach out to a greater number of elders.[5] For example, one of the videos produced was included in a special issue on aging in the magazine Montreal Serai.[9][10]

Awards

In 2015, RECAA received an Engaged Scholar Award given by Concordia University to community organizations outside the university.[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "About Us". RECAA. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  2. ↑ Anderson, Hugh. "Volunteer group tackles problem of elder abuse in ethnic communities". The Gazette (Montreal) (subscription required). Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  3. 1 2 Joanne Penhale. RECAA highlights elder abuse in unique ways. The Senior Times, July 18, 2014: http://www.theseniortimes.com/recaa-highlights-elder-abuse-in-unique-ways/
  4. ↑ RECAA Flashmob, http://recaa.ca/recaa-flash-mob/
  5. 1 2 3 Melzer, Katja. "New - Media - Age : An Interview with RECAA Members About Aging and Empowerment Through Digital Media". .dpi. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  6. 1 2 Sawchuk, Kim (2013). "Tactical mediatization and activist ageing: pressures, push-backs, and the story of RECAA". MedieKultur: Journal of Media and Communication Research. 29 (54): 47–64. doi:10.7146/mediekultur.v29i54.7313.
  7. 1 2 Penhale, Joanne (29 May 2015). "Seniors highlight abuse through performance". PX News. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  8. ↑ Bryson, D. (2015). The adoption and nonadoption of new technologies by the active ageing, In Textile-led Design for the active ageing population. Woodhead. pp. 47–57. ISBN 9780857098788.
  9. ↑ Foster, Lisa. "Editorial". Montreal Serai. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  10. ↑ "Resources ethnoculturelles contre l'abus envers les ainéEs / Respecting Elders: Communities Against Abuse". Montreal Serai. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  11. ↑ Kathryn Jezer-Morton. Oral history partnerships, a youth workshop and one group’s fight against elder abuse. Concordia News, April 14, 2015: https://www.concordia.ca/cunews/main/stories/2015/04/14/ccsl-awards-engaged-Concordians-community-members.html
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