EDITORIAL: Elder abuse must be addressed

A few days ago countries across the globe recognised World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, the goal of which is to urge all of us to pay greater attention to the wellbeing and health of older persons.

For a country like Barbados that has an ever growing elderly population and an exceptional number of centenarians, ensuring that our elderly are taken care of in their twilight years, honoured, celebrated and most importantly protected, must be high on our agenda. Sadly however, we appear to be valuing our seniors and the contributions that they have made to the development of this country less, and there is a tendency by society, in general, to want to push them aside. But this cannot be allowed to continue, because those who have helped to build the society have the right, in their sunset years, to enjoy their lives and to have provisions in place that protect them from those who seek to prey on them and abuse them in unconscionable ways.

Abuse of the elderly is totally unacceptable, and anyone who is caught engaging in such behaviour should face the full extent of the law. The problem is however, that many of those being abused are too afraid to report it, and others who know about it, may think it is not their business and so stay silent. This has resulted in us not having the statistics regarding the local prevalence of elder abuse. But, this is not unique to Barbados, as elder abuse is underreported globally. What we have seen over the years as well, is where reports are made, and the police follow up, hardly anyone is prosecuted, and it seems this is because there is still not adequate legislation on our statute books that firmly speaks to elder abuse.

Over the years successive administrations while noting the importance of addressing elder abuse, have not taken concrete actions to prevent it and bring the perpetrators to justice. We well remember there was a Green Paper on Ageing and then a White Paper on Ageing, both of which were debated by the Parliament of Barbados, but they have amounted to nothing more than paper. The latter spoke to introducing an Elder Affairs Act to replace the existing National Assistance Act, and also to the creation of a Commission of Elder Affairs, but eight years later nothing has come of those proposals.

Months after the current administration came to power, Barbadians were told again that the protection of the elderly and the stamping out of all forms of elder abuse would be a priority, but unfortunately, three years later we have not seen that materialise either. Admittedly, it could be the fault of the COVID-19 pandemic, but we can ill afford to continue kicking the can down the road, for until we make an example of those who are prey on our elderly, using the full weight of the law to punish them, it will likely continue.

As we recognise another World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of protecting our seniors’ physical and financial wellbeing is even more important, as the pandemic has resulted in many of them becoming more dependent on others to do everyday things like pay bills and supermarket shopping. While not everyone who comes to their assistance will be unscrupulous, there are some that will be, something seniors have to be conscious of as they face isolation, and health and economic challenges brought about by the pandemic.

The fact is elder abuse is real and can take numerous forms including physical, sexual, emotional, financial and of course neglect, therefore the importance of having the necessary legal framework in place cannot be overemphasised. Moreover, with our elderly population expected to exceed 20 percent in the about four years, it highlights even more the need to protect that segment of our population.

Barbados Advocate

Mailing Address:
Advocate Publishers (2000) Inc
Fontabelle, St. Michael, Barbados

Phone: (246) 467-2000
Fax: (246) 434-2020 / (246) 434-1000