Over the seven years, the service has continued to grow, with a steep increase in the number of advice calls following the tabling of the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence in early 2016. Research suggests that up to 14 per cent of older people may experience it in the form of physical, emotional, financial, social or sexual abuse. Importantly, the meeting recognised that as the official lockdown period begins to ease, older people as a more vulnerable cohort, continue to face uncertainty about what they should and shouldn’t do, highlighting the importance of continued advocacy for the needs of all older people at this time. Jane speaks with a worker from the local council who visits Jane each Friday about her concerns. My concern is to make a change; to make some difference so that this [elder abuse] does not happen.’. Members of the Elder Abuse Roundtable pictured last year with the Aged Discrimination Commissioner, Dr Kay Patterson AO, seated front right. Jane manages her bills by electronic direct debit. 10 am–5 pm, Monday–Friday. A project to mark the 100th anniversary of the Rotary Club of Melbourne will help raise awareness of elder abuse throughout Australia. While telehealth and online services are better than nothing, they are not always suitable or user-friendly for older people, and it is important that the value of face-to-face contact is not lost as we move into a post-pandemic environment. has some information about risk assessment and safety planning. ‘Our funding matched—and exceeded—the Commonwealth Government’s commitment of $12.092 million. Senior Rights Victoria encourages organisations to celebrate the positive contributions of older people in our communities. You will then receive a Zoom link. Because the banking arrangement had been working well for Jane, she agreed for Sarah to have internet access to her bank account to continue paying Jane’s bills for her. We provide information and referral, legal advice and legal casework on matters specifically related to elder abuse in conjunction with our individual social work advocacy and casework services. Really interesting question! This guide is also available in pdf format. Jane provides Sarah with her bank book and instructs Sarah the amount to be withdrawn from her bank account. The project is encouraging people to decorate handcrafted paper houses with embellishments and words that describe what a warm, safe home means to them. and discussion. SRV staff are encouraging people to follow our lead next Monday afternoon (June 15) when we will be holding an online purple tea party called ‘Stir A Cuppa For Seniors’ with seniors and others. In future, we would like to further consider this area to assist us with targeting our community education and promote our service. While this is slightly higher than the Victorian population (0.8%) who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander (not adjusted for age) we are continually trying to do more to engage with this cohort. SRV works on an empowerment approach that assumes a person has capacity to make decisions, so we would encourage discussions with the older person concerned. Jane, aged 85 years, lives alone and lives with a medical condition which restricts her mobility outside her home. If you, your client or someone you know is experiencing elder abuse, call the confidential helpline on 1300 368 821. I decided to visit more regularly, so that he knew I was there if he wanted to talk. 22nd Your Medical Decision Maker These issues are not discussed in the report as the focus is on data collected by the service but they are considered by SRV and how we deliver our services. This is exacerbated by the rise in value of Australia’s property and the increased difficulty of younger generations to break into the housing market. ‘Elder abuse stems from the way the community views older Victorians. ‘It is an issue which deserves the attention of all in the community.’. You can read them here. Our resource Concerned About an Older Person? © 2021 COTA Victoria Book for one Tuesday, book for some, book for all. Seniors Rights Victoria at COTA (VIC) Part Time. For more information contact education@barwoncls.org.au or Karen.Crockford@bch.org.au or call Barwon Community Legal Service on 1300 430 599. The data indicated that 48% of clients were born overseas, compared to 41% of the Victorian population aged over 60 years. Seniors Rights Victoria is a community legal centre and is a program of Council on the Ageing (COTA) Victoria. “Elder abuse is any mistreatment of an older person by another person with whom they have a relationship of trust. Mental health issues were experienced by an increasing number of perpetrators, rising to 39% in the most recent period. Examples of common financial elder abuse include: Ms Blakey said the protection of the financial or personal interests of older people is vital because they may become homeless, in debt, lose money to pay for future aged care and result in a reduced pension. You may book your ticket online here. On top of that, we encourage people to contact police in some circumstances or we contact police for them (with their consent). World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is an opportunity to encourage community recognition of elder abuse and the need to address it. Seniors Rights Victoria provides information, support, advice, education and specialist legal services to help prevent elder abuse and safeguard the rights, dignity and independence of older people. Elder abuse practitioners have no desire to dilute the messaging around the role of gender in family violence, particularly intimate partner violence, but we also need to ensure that the significant number of male victims of elder abuse, and the circumstance of female perpetrators, are attended to. “On experience, this usually occurs between an older person and a family member but can also occur with carers or friends. SRV recently convened a meeting with organisations that are part of the Elder Abuse Roundtable to discuss how the pandemic is affecting older people within their client base and what can be done to mitigate the impacts. The different forms of elder abuse are ways for another person to take over or control the life or property of an older person, Ms Blakey said. Elder Abuse Action Australia brings together representatives from many of these organisations to be a national voice advocating for action. 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