- Elder abuse affects thousands of older South Africans and remains widely underreported.
- New threats, including cybercrime and financial scams, are increasing the vulnerability of older people.
- Government, communities, businesses and citizens all have a role to play in preventing elder abuse and protecting dignity.
With the observance of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on 15 June and its theme, “Beyond Awareness Making Elder Abuse Prevention Work”, South Africans should be asking themselves what we are doing to protect the 6.6 million older people aged 60 and over in our society.
Elder abuse is often described as a hidden crime because it happens behind closed doors, in families, communities and increasingly through digital devices. But silence protects perpetrators, not victims. Elder abuse is not merely a private matter, but a public health, human rights and social justice issue.
The World Health Organization defines elder abuse as “a single, or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust which causes harm or distress to an older person”.
International trends show that one in six older people experiences a form of elder abuse. Sadly, the South African statistics paint an undesirable picture. A recent study conducted in urban areas in the Western Cape and rural Limpopo found that one in 10 older people is a victim of abuse.
The call to address this scourge becomes even more urgent given that the nature of elder abuse is evolving, with the emergence of cybercrimes targeting unsuspecting seniors. These include financial scams where so-called lovers deplete funds and fake charity scams that cash in on older people's altruism. There are also deepfakes where, using robot calls, scammers present themselves as a loved one or a known service provider, swindling older people out of their money.
Understanding the many forms of elder abuse
Other forms of elder abuse include physical abuse, causing pain or injury; psychological or emotional abuse, such as name calling or swearing; financial or material abuse, including the theft or fraud of a grant or money; sexual abuse, involving non consensual sex; and neglect, where an older person is not properly cared for, including situations where basic needs such as food are not met.
First Nation peoples and indigenous populations may experience more subtle forms of elder abuse due to Westernisation and the loss of traditional cultural norms of honouring older people. For example, older African women may be accused of “witchcraft” and ostracised from the community or even killed. These women are blamed for supernatural events or disasters.
A study in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal also identified systemic abuse, where budget cuts and limited human resources are used as excuses for failing to provide services to seniors, such as police and social workers not investigating reports of elder abuse, with court outcomes that never materialise.
Added to this is the poor service delivery of many South African municipalities, where vulnerable older people have to cope without electricity during power cuts or without water, effectively amounting to gross human rights violations.
Some older people face a higher risk of abuse if they have certain traits, such as being part of the LGBTIQA+ community, having reduced mobility, physical or mental decline, experiencing social isolation, or living in extended households or inner-city areas. They are even more vulnerable if they are female, single, divorced, widowed or financially dependent.
The perpetrators of elder abuse are a diverse group, including non-family members such as neighbours or friends, family members who live in the same household, and service providers in positions of power such as carers and healthcare workers.
The consequences of elder abuse are severe and include physical risks such as cognitive decline, physical injuries and premature mortality. Victims are often ashamed and lose their dignity. Many report anxiety, fear and nightmares. Others withdraw from loved ones and social life due to stigma.
Turning awareness into action
What can be done to prevent older people from abuse and protect them? To begin, carers and students in the helping professions need training in working with older people and in the Older Persons Act 13 of 2006 to identify and prevent elder abuse. Welfare organisations should also run public awareness campaigns, especially in rural areas and where older people are homebound.
Financial institutions should offer older people financial literacy training as part of corporate social responsibility programmes. Digital literacy programmes such as iGOGO, offered by goGOGOgo, which supports grandparent-headed households, should be implemented across the country to enhance digital literacy and protect seniors against cybercrime.
Older people or service providers must report elder abuse to the police or social workers at the Department of Social Development, and allegations should be investigated and taken to court if warranted. Additionally, section 31 of the Older Persons Act makes provision for a register of elder abuse offenders, which must be operational, and employers must avoid hiring listed individuals to work with older people.
If we are serious about building a society that values dignity, justice and human rights, then protecting older people cannot be left to families alone. It requires action from the government, communities, businesses and every citizen.
way we treat the older generation is ultimately a measure of the society we have become and the society we hope to leave behind for future generations. As Nelson Mandela once said, “A society that does not value its older people denies its roots and endangers its future.”
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