FEARS of being abandoned can stop older people complaining about ill-treatment from family members, according to a Border advocacy group.
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Age Concern Albury-Wodonga said society needed more awareness of elder abuse, where seniors endure financial, emotional or physical hardships, often caused by those supposed to care for them.
The Royal Commission into Family Violence on Thursday learned more than 92 per cent of elder abuse comes from people related to the older person or in a de facto relationship while 66.8 per cent is carried out by their child.
Age Concern Albury-Wodonga general manager Jodie Hayes said the needs of this age group made victims reluctant to speak up if their children, partners or carers were abusive.
“Because they feel very frightened about what happens if that relationship breaks down, ‘Who’s going to look after me? What’s going to happen to me? What are the repercussions going to be?’,” she said.
“They’re a very vulnerable cohort in our community; I would suspect probably almost as vulnerable as young children are.
“Hopefully with things like this commission that they’re looking at mandatory reporting and bringing it much more in line with what they’re doing with the children.”
Examples of financial abuse can involve adult children returning home, demanding their inheritance early or exchanging care for their parents’ assets.
Ms Hayes said dementia or other cognitive problems reduced an elderly person’s understanding of any decisions made.
Emotional abuse, far harder to identify, included name calling, putting the other person down, not talking to them or otherwise “not connecting to them with love”.
Ms Hayes said helplines and support services could assist families struggling with these issues.
“The more that it’s spoken about, the better,” she said.
Wodonga Senior Citizens Club president Charles Caldwell, 84, described himself as one of the lucky ones, having not experienced such family troubles.
But he had no doubt older people could be vulnerable to physical abuse, especially from those affected by drugs.
“They seem to pick on people who have no hope of controlling them and the mood they’re in,” Mr Caldwell said.
“All they want is the money but they don’t give a damn how they affect the older people.
“And the older people take a long, long time to get over someone bashing them up.”
For help with elder abuse ring 1300 368 821.
