Elder Abuse Likely on the Rise During COVID-19

The webinar covered what elder abuse is and how stressful situations, like the current coronavirus epidemic, has exposed older people to abuse from family members, friends or carers.

Jenny Blakey, Board Member and Chair of Advisory Group at Elder Abuse Action Australia (EAAA) and Manager of Seniors Rights Victoria, was a panellist at this webinar, saying there was a big cause for concern for older people who are likely self-isolating and staying away from their support networks.

Ms Blakey adds that evidence from overseas shows that in times of crisis or great stress, like COVID-19, there is an increase of family violence, and since abuse of older people involves relationships and trust, this is considered a form of family violence.

"It is expected that [elder abuse] is likely to increase as well. We don't have very good or reliable statistics around the prevalence of elder abuse, but we do know it is under-reported. We know that we don't hear about it," says Ms Blakey.

View this resource