Grandparents being exploited, neglected or financially coerced are the target of a new education campaign to eliminate elder abuse in Australia. Source: Sydney Morning Herald.
Beginning yesterday, $5 million worth of advertisements will run on television, online and at medical clinics telling older people to open up about the poor treatment they receive, including from their children and grandchildren.
The push to reveal bad behaviour comes amid mounting evidence that some families take advantage of the vulnerable state of their elders, who are living longer and delaying inheritances.
A 2021 government study found about one in six older Australians were abused, but about two-thirds of them did not seek help.
“Abuse of older people is a shameful and often hidden form of cruelty and mistreatment. In addition to physical abuse, elder abuse can involve psychological or emotional abuse, financial abuse, sexual abuse or neglect,” Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus will say in a speech today.
“It is ugly. It is unacceptable. And it must be eliminated.”
The one-in-six finding is likely an underestimate, the Government believes, because the research did not capture people with cognitive decline or those in residential aged care.
The new advertisement features an older man going about his day, chatting happily to a neighbour and his barber. But when asked how his home life is, the man’s demeanour changes.
“Ending the abuse of older people begins with a conversation. If something doesn’t feel right, speak to someone you trust,” the advertisement states.
Age Discrimination Commissioner Robert Fitzgerald last month called on the retirement sector to introduce a national strategy to counter abuse.
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New push to end ‘ugly’ exploitation of older Australians (By Paul Sakkal, Sydney Morning Herald)
