The launch of a multi-million dollar elder abuse awareness campaign is a positive step towards ending the scourge of abuse impacting an estimated one in six older Australians, COTA Australia says.
The Federal Government today announced the launch of a $5 million dollar advertising campaign aimed at encouraging older people to open up about poor treatment – including from their children and grandchildren.
CEO of COTA Australia, the leading advocacy organisation for older people, Patricia Sparrow, said awareness-raising is one piece of the puzzle when it comes to addressing the serious issue.
“The statistics around elder abuse are shocking. It’s estimated one in six older people experiences abuse, but we also know that it’s an under-reported issue and that the figures are likely much higher than that,” Ms Sparrow said.
“Systemic issues like ageism mean that all too often elder abuse is overlooked or dismissed. Anything that helps bring the issue to the forefront of people’s minds and provides practical tools to address it is very welcome.”
Ms Sparrow said the recent evaluation of the 2019-2023 National Elder Abuse Plan showed a need to continue to increase awareness of the issue and for further safeguards to be put in place to protect older people.
“It’s important the Federal Government develop and release a new National Elder Abuse Plan that continues this important work. This advertising campaign is an important part of that, but we should also look to other measures too such as fixing our Power of Attorney laws,” Ms Sparrow said.
“We have a situation where each state and territory has its own, often weak, Power of Attorney laws which is contributing to our unacceptably high rates of elder abuse.
“We’ve all heard stories of unscrupulous relatives or acquaintances using our inconsistent and weak Power of Attorney laws to get away with abusing vulnerable older Australians.
“Elder abuse takes many forms and we need serious action on many fronts. This significant awareness-raising campaign is a great step forward, but fixing the Power of Attorney laws as part of increasing and effective safeguards against elder abuse, is another obvious and urgent step we need to take.”
Media contact: Alana Mew, 0419 929 722
