All posts by : Steve Wright

There was an excellent staff turnout to our WEAAD event and a fascinating speaker, Pauline Meaney, from Elder Rights Victoria.  She shared a number of case studies with staff, some of whom knew nothing or very little about elder abuse.  This was definitely an awareness raising session with discussion amongst staff afterwards. We appreciated learning what the issues are – and the avenues to seek assistance.  Look forward to next year. 

The Mornington Peninsula Shire’s Aged & Disability Services Unit worked with the Peninsula Advisory Committee for Elders (PACE) on a range of events to mark World Elder Abuse Awareness Day in June including:

• Turning the McCrae lighthouse purple (the international symbolic colour for WEAAD) from 13-19 June.
• Information tables at Rosebud Plaza and Bentons Square Shopping Centre – manned by PACE who talked to residents about Elder Abuse and how they can get help for people they might know who may be suffering
• Shire staff wore purple ribbons to highlight the WEAAD message
• A Community Education Forum on Legal Matters and Ageing on Tuesday 7 June

15 June 2016 was World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) – an annual day designated by the United Nations to focus public attention on this insidious problem.

Seniors Rights Victoria appeared in the Herald Sun newspaper and in an Elder Abuse Talkback Forum  with Jon Faine on 774 ABC Melbourne.

Seniors Rights Victoria also hosted an event for 90 people at Lander & Rogers law firm, where the Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence, the Hon. Fiona Richardson MP, spoke eloquently about the Government’s actions on elder abuse, and announced some new funding for Seniors Rights Victoria to help more local service providers and community groups prevent elder abuse. Jennifer Evans, a long-time peer educator, then presented one woman’s moving story of elder abuse, which was followed by a community education video developed with the Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria.

Last, Freda Vrantsidis, of the National Ageing Research Institute,  launched the NARI/Seniors Rights Victoria report: ‘The older person’s experience: outcomes of interventions into elder abuse’.  This is the only Australian study we know of that looks at elder abuse from older peoples’ perspective. The report also contains recommendations, formed from the advice of the courageous participants, which will be of great use to both older people and policy-makers alike.

Seniors Rights Victoria, helped by volunteers from our parent body COTA Vic also hosted an information table in the historic Block Arcade in Collins st, Melbourne on 15 June 2016. We engaged with over 200 people, handing out WEAAD themed helpsheets, bookmarks, magnets, ribbons, posters and balloons, and having many important conversations about elder abuse.

On Monday 15 June a number of events occurred throughout Victoria to raise awareness of the serious issue of elder abuse on the United Nation’s World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD).  See https://elderabuseawarenessday.org.au/events/

Seniors Rights Victoria held a special event at the Melbourne Town Hall, which was lit up in the WEAAD color purple for the night. Jenny Blakey, the Manager of Senior Rights Victoria, welcomed guests including the Victorian Minister for Ageing, Martin Foley, the Deputy Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Susan Riley, the  Commissioner for Older Victorians Gerard Mansour, the Public Advocate, Colleen Pearce, Frank Vincent QC and Barbara Mountjouris, Manager, Senior Programs, Department of Health and Human Services.

“Tonight we are in this magnificent building to turn the light on elder abuse. The Town Hall will light up in purple, the colour of WEAAD, and banners are hanging from the balcony to tell all who pass that elder abuse exists and help is at hand to empower older people to deal with it,” Jenny Blakey said. See Jenny Blakey WEAAD speech.

Guests enjoyed canapés, drinks and a musical performance from the band Cello Squared. The comedian Rod Quantock offered a humorous take on ageing, which lightened the mood after serious talks on elder abuse. To learn about our 2014 Forum, please click here.

Manningham City Council recognised World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) on Monday 15 June with an afternoon tea and a guest speaker from the Eastern Community Legal Centre to help raise the profile of this important issue. The event was hosted by Councillor Meg Downie and attended by senior management of Council and community members representing senior groups and community organisations based in Manningham.

This year Council supported a group of older Manningham residents and five seniors’ groups who volunteered their time, effort and in many cases their wool to create an art installation for the  Manningham City Municipal Offices in Doncaster. The installation represented a tranquil garden setting and sent a strong message of hope that as a community “we can stop elder abuse”. Participants knitted more than 200 wool squares to form the trees and pathways and over 600 individual flowers for the garden including daffodils, roses, fuchsias and daisies. Many conversations about elder abuse were had as participants worked together to create the installation. The installation remained for several weeks over June and July and sent a message to anybody coming to council that “we can stop elder abuse”.

To further raise awareness, Council distributed over 500 purple ribbons and 500 book marks to staff and the wider community. Information regarding elder abuse and where to get support was widely distributed and made available to staff and the public. There was a write up in the Manningham Leader on 22 June 2015 and an article in Manningham Council’s publication Manningham Matters in July.

This is the City of Knox staff wearing purple for World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on June 15.

See also this wonderful video from the Yarra Ranges Council.

And hear a new song  about elder abuse.

This is the office of the Eastern Community Legal Centre. Kaz is Seniors Rights Victoria’s Elder Abuse Prevention Co-ordinator.

This is the result of Peninsula Community Legal Centre’s knitting bee for World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. Frankston Council  also organised a mammoth yarn bombing in the local community, with trees and posts covered in busy areas of Frankston. More photos to come!