Elderly abusing the elderly
Elder abuse of a sexual nature between elderly couples is “more prevalent than we’d like to think”, according to Queensland’s Elderly Abuse Prevention Unit coordinator, Les Jackson. Mr Jackson said he had reportedly received calls in the past from elderly women who were sexually abused by their husbands.
Elder abuse of a sexual nature between elderly couples is “more prevalent than we’d like to think”, according to Queensland’s Elderly Abuse Prevention Unit coordinator, Les Jackson.
Speaking to a forum on ageing at NSW Parliament House recently, Mr Jackson said he had reportedly received calls in the past from elderly women who were sexually abused by their husbands who are suffering with dementia.
He recalled how one elder abuse hotline caller reported being abused about 10 or 12 times a day.
According to Mr Jackson, police were not always the “best place to go for help”, instead believing counsellors should be called first in cases where elderly men sexually abuse their wives.
The Herald Sun reports Mr Jackson as saying “police orders against perpetrators were hard to enforce if the husband was in the home”.
Age Discriminator Commissioner, Susan Ryan, told AAP elderly women needed to fear less and act more.
She said elderly women in these situations often feared the consequences of police being called as they may believe they would also be charged.
“A much better course of action is to try to get medical advice and some counselling,” she encouraged, adding this option would “get a better result” than calling police.
Do you think there needs to be more services available to older people being abused by other older people? Share your thoughts on this issue by commenting in the box below.
