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th ei fp .c a Th e IF P -H al to n H ill s | T hu rs da y, A ug us t 8, 20 19 | 6 ABOUT US This newspaper, published every Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised of more than 80 community publications across Ontario. This newspaper is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concerns to the attention of the news- paper and, if not satisfied, write The National NewsMedia Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W 2H2. Phone: 416-340-1981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca newsroom@theifp.ca IndependentAndFreePress @IFP_11 WHO WE ARE Publisher Kelly Montague Regional General Manager Steve Foreman Regional Director of Media Holly Chriss Regional Managing Editor Catherine O'Hara Managing Editor Karen Miceli Distribution Representative Iouliana Polar Real Estate Kristie Pells Regional Production Manager Manuel Garcia Production Shelli Harrison Halton Media General Manager Vicki Dillane CONTACT US The Independent & Free Press 280 Guelph Street, Unit 77 Georgetown, ON L7G 4B1 Phone: 905-873-0301 Classifieds: 1-800-263-6480 Fax: 905-873-0398 Letters to the editor All letters must be fewer than 200 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit, con- dense or reject letters. Delivery For all delivery inquiries, please e-mail lpolar@miltoncana- dianchampion.com or call 905- 234-1019. OPINION TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT THEIFP.CA EDITORIAL Whether they were unspeakably heartless or just plain stupid, the people who flooded Brantford police with 911 complaints about an Amber Alert recently were entirely out of line.A two-year-old girl had been taken from her home in that city by a man who had broken down the door. The child's mother was distraught. Fears for the child's safety, even her life, were legitimate. And so in those desperate, middle-of-the-night min- utes, police sent out an Amber Alert to people's cell- phones across Ontario pleading for any information that might lead to the safe recovery of that little girl. Thankfully, police found the child unharmed in Ham- ilton, returned her home and made four arrests. But not before fending off the furious flak of fools who had been awakened from their sleep by a shrill Amber Alert and chose to vent their rage by calling 911. One person called 911 no fewer than 11 times and is rightly being investigated for a possible mischief of- fence. But everyone who dialed that number to gripe about this Amber Alert behaved reprehensibly. That number is for emergencies, not complaints. Calling 911 for such a comparatively frivolous reason could delay a serious emergency call and result in trage- dy. No wonder there's a petition calling on the Ontario government to make such abuses of 911 an offence. It's somewhat understandable that people awakened on a work night by an Amber Alert might, at least ini- tially, be annoyed. Their frustration will be particularly pronounced if they live far from where the child has gone missing and could offer no help. The authorities should be sensitive to this and at least consider modifying Amber Alerts so they can re- main effective while causing minimal disruption. That may not be easy. Some people suggest dividing the enormous land mass of Ontario into regions and targeting alerts to people in specific areas. Perhaps that would be an im- provement. But police believe this change could weaken the effectiveness of the Amber Alert, citing the case of a child reported missing in Sudbury who was later located in Toronto. If Amber Alerts can be fine-tuned, we say, "Good." If they can't, people should learn to live with the occa- sional inconvenience they create. Or they can turn off their phones. But before they do, they might consider that a child's life matters more than an interrupted sleep. WE NEED AMBER ALERT, FINE-TUNED OR NOT Let's discuss violence as it may affect older women. Many studies/consulta- tions have taken place over the course of the last few years. Aging Without Vio- lence, a four-year training project lead by the Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses (OAITH), has developed and presented recommen- dations re: Consultation submission on Ontario's Senior's Strategy to the Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility. Central to OAITH's work is bringing attention to violence against all women. In 1995 OAITH started a Femicide List; to capture the stories of wom- en who lost their lives due to gender-based violence, (specifically intimate part- ner and known relation- ship femicide) as reported on by the media. In 2018, women who were over the age of 55 made up 45 per cent of those murdered, with charges laid against the men closest to them. The presence of women aged 55 and over has steadily in- creased on OAITH's Femi- cide List over the last few years. Abuse has no boundar- ies - not even age. Up to 10 per cent of older adults in Ontario face abuse which can include physical, sexu- al, emotional and finan- cial, as well as neglect and violation of rights. Older women may have difficulty accessing servic- es. Barriers include believ- ing it is a personal matter that has gone on for so long that nothing will change. They may be financially dependent on their abuser and they may feel shame. Older women may have dif- ficulty finding affordable housing on their own. Mar- ginalized women would ex- perience even greater bar- riers. Aging without violence is a right that all human be- ings are entitled to. Vio- lence against older women has a broad scope which may include (ex) partners, family members, care- givers, neighbours, ac- quaintances and service providers. If you know an older woman who is being abused please call us for re- sources or have the woman call our crisis lines at: Bur- lington - 905-332-7892 or Milton at 905-878-8555. Carm Bozzo is the de- velopment manager for Halton Women's Place WE'RE ALL ENTITLED TO AGE WITHOUT VIOLENCE ABUSE HAS NO AGE LIMIT, WRITES BOZZO CARM BOZZO Column SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT THEIFP.CA