Awareness of elder abuse lags

A collaborative research study into the extent of elder abuse in Western Australia revealed public awareness of the issue lags far behind issues such as child abuse and domestic violence.

The important finding comes just in time for World Elder Abuse Awareness Day which is held today (Wednesday, 15 June 2011).

Advocare WA chief executive officer, Greg Mahney, told DPS eNews, the need to raise awareness of elder abuse was vital.

“A vital issue is that people are not perhaps aware of elder abuse. Everything from advertising campaigns, encouraging organisations to talk about the issue, and more funding is needed,” Mr Mahney said.

He said elder abuse would occur “more often” as the ageing population grows.

“There will be a lot more incidences of it. Research shows elder abuse will increase by 90% over the next 20 years,” Mr Mahney said.

The research study, conducted by Advocare and the Crime Research Centre at the University of Western Australia, also found financial abuse was the most frequently recorded type of abuse with the misuse of Enduring Powers of Attorney as the most mentioned type of financial abuse.

Data suggested an overall trend for an increasing volume of cases of elder abuse in Western Australia, but as there is no uniformity in the way statistics are gathered, it is difficult to obtain an accurate estimate of the extent of elder abuse in Western Australia.

The study also showed “no evident cohesive approach” to elder abuse across government and non-government organisations.

Numerous key recommendations were also made into reviewing the concept and definition of elder abuse.

Some recommendations included:

• Arranging a series of community seminars involving child protection and domestic violence services to explore commonalities and differences with elder abuse policy and practice;
• Banks to develop policies, practices and educational programs to reduce the risk of incidence of financial abuse of older people;
• Uniform federal legislation on Enduring Powers of Attorney to be developed and a national system for registering and auditing to be implemented;
• Funding to be sought for an ongoing public education campaign;
• Develop a risk-assessment process to ensure the most vulnerable are not falling through the gaps; and;
• A review of the current network of service agencies responding to allegations of different types of elder abuse.

Advocare provides a free, professional advocacy service for older adults and care recipients living in Western Australia. The team assists clients of both residential and community care to understand their rights and make any necessary complaints about the care service they receive. They are also available to help older adults who are experiencing elder abuse.

To learn more about Advocare, phone (08) 9479 7566 or visit www.advocare.org.au/