Fighting to keep the elderly safe

Despite years of social work Jackie Tidbury was in shock for her first two weeks of dealing with elder abuse and neglect.

The Weymouth woman started work for Age Concern Counties Manukau last September.

She’s appalled elder abuse isn’t specifically recognised by the law despite its prevalence.

"There is no legislation which specifically supports the vulnerable elderly or the social work involvement and obligations.

"We do not have a legal act to stand on."

Elder abuse workers have no equivalent to the Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act which sets out what’s required for child safety and protection, she says.

And there’s also no legal definition for elder abuse.

"The term elder abuse and neglect is so stark it’s a shock," says Mrs Tidbury.

"Families don’t even realise what they’re doing is abuse."

Summer is the season of increased abuse with significantly more referrals expected in January, says Age Concern Counties Manukau executive officer Wendy Bremner.

That’s because financial and psychological abuse can rise when carers become more stressed in the lead-up to Christmas.

Mrs Tidbury began working alongside elder abuse and neglect field worker Dianne Leach in September and the pair are committed to raising
awareness.

Abuse can be financial, physical or psychological, they
say.

Carers might exploit access to personal information such as PIN numbers to steal money or hold back on proper resthome care because they want to keep their inheritance.

They might physically abuse the elderly person by inflicting pain or psychologically abuse them by making them feel worthless and having unrealistic expectations of
them.

"For example, leaving a meal tray until the food is cold before helping to feed the person," says Mrs
Tidbury.

Unfortunately the abused person can feel trapped, she says.

"Elder abuse is happening within families and that’s the shock," Mrs Leach
says

Factors such as the physical dependence of the older person, drug, alcohol or financial problems of the abusers or stress and ill-health of the carers can all be contributing
factors.

A lot of abusers don’t recognise what they’re doing, Mrs Tidbury says.

"The best thing we can do is raise awareness."

The two women have been running community awareness sessions and training programmes at resthomes.

They also took part in November’s Teal Ribbon family violence prevention week.

There’s still no legal framework for combating elder abuse despite Health Ministry guidelines released in 2007 and a Families Commission research report in January last
year.

"Where there are situations in which children are abused the perpetrators often face charges in the court system," Mrs Tidbury says.

"To my knowledge there have not been charges against the perpetrators of elder abuse."

To contact Age Concern phone 279-4331.

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