Page 11 - PR Mag June19

In the lead up to World Elder Abuse Prevention Day on 15 June, Queenslanders are urged
to start a community conversation about elder abuse and how people can recognise the
signs and seek help for themselves or people they know.

Elder abuse is any act within a relationship of trust that results in harm to an older
person. The most common forms are emotional abuse, financial abuse, physical abuse
and neglect. The majority of abusers are close family members so people are often not
willing to talk about it.

If someone you know may be suffering from elder abuse, call the Elder Abuse Helpline on
1300 651 192 for free confidential advice and support.

A son skims his elderly mother’s savings by using her keycard • Employers can increase awareness of elder abuse by
to buy things for himself. A daughter moves in with her dad providing their staff with information on how to support
to provide care, and ends up using intimidation and threats those affected and where to access help.
to force him to change his will for her benefit. Sadly, these are • If you work in the media you can play an important role
real examples of elder abuse that are happening every day in in raising awareness of elder abuse and reinforcing the
Queensland. message that there’s no excuse for elder abuse.
• Encourage your local newspaper or radio station to write
This year’s elder abuse prevention campaign, There’s no excuse stories about elder abuse.
for elder abuse, highlights some of the most common forms of Councils can lead the way in their community by running local
abuse and directs people to support for themselves or someone projects focusing on elder abuse prevention or establishing
they know. a taskforce bringing together community leaders to start the
conversation and promote anti-elder abuse messages.
As a lot of the most common forms of elder abuse are quite
subtle and hard to detect, we may think the abuse is not that Acknowledgements
bad. That’s why we’re making it clear that there is no excuse for The Department of Communities, Disability Services and Seniors
any type of elder abuse in this year’s campaign. would like to acknowledge the contribution made to the
development of this campaign by the UnitingCare Queensland’s
People might think using their mum or dad’s key card to treat Elder Abuse Prevention Unit, legal and social support services,
themselves isn’t a big deal but it is elder abuse. Some may Queensland Police Service and the Public Trustee.
think they’re entitled to their mum or dad’s assets because they
provide them care but forcing them to sign legal documents The UnitingCare Queensland Elder Abuse Prevention Unit has
against their wishes is elder abuse. We all disagree sometimes also provided expert advice during the development of this
but threats and intimidation are elder abuse – and there is no website including providing personal stories.
excuse for elder abuse.

You’ll see the campaign on buses, in shopping centres and ELDER ABUSE HELPLINE
medical centres, on news websites and newspapers. You may
hear campaign ads on radio or see them on social media. Free anonymous and confidential assistance
between 9am–5pm, Monday to Friday.
We must recognise the signs of all types of elder abuse, including
those not as visible as physical abuse, and call out the abusive
behaviours because everyone in Queensland has a right to be 1300 651 192 (Queensland only)
safe and to be treated with dignity and respect.
(07) 3867 2525 (rest of Australia)
Take action
We want to start a community conversation about elder abuse This helpline is funded by the Queensland
so as many people as possible know there’s no excuse for elder
abuse. We can’t do it alone so we’re hoping you can help spread Government and operated by UnitingCare
the word. Community.
• Organise an event in your local area to support World Elder
Abuse Awareness Day on 15 June. An experienced and trained operator will help
• Display There’s no excuse for elder abuse posters and you identify the signs of abuse and provide
helpcards at your workplace to help raise awareness of elder referrals to the relevant support services.
15 June. Purple is the official colour of World Elder Abuse [ In an emergency, ]
abuse. Free posters and helpcards will be available to order
soon.
• Encourage your work colleagues to wear purple around
Awareness Day and denotes wisdom, dignity, independence call triple zero (000)
and creativity. © State of Queensland (Department of Communities, Disability Services
and Seniors and Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women)
June 2019