Elder abuse: Pippa Colman speaks on tragic issue affecting our elderly

Leading Sunshine Coast family lawyer Pippa Colman has touched on the tragic topic of elder abuse as the ageing Australian population is tipped to hit nine million.

The final report of the Australian Institute of Family Studies national Elder Abuse Prevalence Study was published in December, 2021 and makes for frightening reading for oldies.

In the next 25 years, the number of older people over 65 years will double to about nine million.

The key messages from the report are:

1. One in six older Australians reported experiencing abuse in the 12 months prior to their being surveyed in 2020;

2. Elder abuse takes many forms including psychological, neglect, financial, physical and sexual.

3. The perpetrators of elder abuse are often family members, mostly their adult children. They can also be friends and neighbours. Ironically, family and friends are the most common sources of support for those who experience elder abuse.

4. Those most likely to experience elder abuse are people with poor physical or psychological health and are already socially isolated.

5. Two thirds of those abused don’t seek help so elder abuse remains hidden.

The good news is that the studies have identified four factors which protect older people from abuse:

i. Being married or living in a relationship (but sometimes the intimate partner can be the abuser). So, counsellors and mediators who help oldies deal with their problems so they can stay together as a couple perform a valuable service. So do the adult children of the oldies. They can get help for their parents if they need it;

ii. Owning your own home without debt. So more financial awareness is needed. We need to teach people about financial management from school age. Sometimes the oldies have got into financial strife because they have lent too much money to their kids along the way;

iii. Having good physical and psychological health. Our doctors and nurses regularly engage with oldies and can provide them with information and support. Families can take their oldies for walks / picnics;

iv. Having higher levels of social support. We have an army of people who don’t work outside the home. We should be encouraging them to interact with our lonely oldies.

As families, we should be caring for our oldies. As a society, we need to ask two questions. First, are we going to tolerate the ongoing abuse of these older, vulnerable and generally helpless people. Second, what are we (you) going to do about it?

To read the report go to https://aifs.gov.au/publications/national-elder-abuse-prevalence-study.

Pippa Colman is the founding director of Pippa Colman & Associates Law Practice.