The Diocese of Parramatta has set up a new program to combat elder abuse by helping older people participate more fully in the life of their parish.
The program, Safeguarding the Elderly, was initiated by the Diocesan Safeguarding Council as a response to the Diocesan Pastoral Plan, after it recognised that older people were particularly vulnerable to abuse from family and others as they become more frail and isolated in their homes.
The program seeks to overcome this by reconnecting older people with others in their parish community, while also providing them with information and resources to know who to turn to if abuse occurs.
The chair of the Diocesan Safeguarding Council, Kathryn Greiner AO, said elder abuse is difficult to stop because victims are often too scared, or too ashamed, to ask for help.
“Elder abuse is the hidden abuse in our community,” she said.
“From experience it takes a long time for people to accept that it happens and to recognise it amongst family, friends and neighbours.
“Older Australians suffering from abuse by their children or relatives are often too ashamed to say anything. Add to that the fact that English may not be their preferred language, and they become very vulnerable.”
Older Australians suffering from abuse are often too ashamed to say anything. Image: Shutterstock
Ms Greiner said this abuse could take many forms, such as grandparents being told they would not be able to see their grandchildren unless they handed over money, or the deeds of their properties, to their children. Other examples included family members withholding basic needs, such as food, or not providing adequate housing.
“The community is now aware of child abuse and the vulnerability of young children, and we have to recognise that older Australians can be at risk of abuse from families in their own homes,” she said.
Ms Greiner, who was the chair of the Ministerial Advisory Council on Ageing for the NSW Government for nine years and is on the Board of National Seniors Australia, said the plan for tackling elder abuse in the Diocese would be in two phases.
The first would be devoted to “listening and dialogue”, where parish communities would build awareness of the problem and actively include older people more in parish life.
This has involved Parish Ministry Teams – including members of Communion to the Sick, seniors’ groups and pastoral care groups –meeting with older members of their parish to discuss how together they can build greater inclusion and participation for seniors in parish life.
Ms Greiner said having much of this “dialogue” in the preferred language of older people would make it easier for them. Priests and clergy also had a role to play in ensuring “communities are formed within parishes, with social interaction for all”, she said.
The second phase of the program was in developing strategies for stopping elder abuse, “all the while informing people of their rights and families of their responsibilities to older members”.
The Head of People and Culture in the Diocese of Parramatta, Tracy McLeod Howe, said the prioritising of support for the elderly in parishes across the Diocese was an example of one of the Pastoral Plan priorities – ‘Listening, Dialogue and Discernment’ – in action.
“The first stage of the program, Safeguarding the elderly, brings together our commitment to host events to listen and learn from each other through a safe, welcoming environment such as morning teas, along with our commitment to recognise the elderly, who are often marginalised,” she said.
“Our recognition of this makes it incumbent on our Diocesan community to strive to maintain their dignity.”
Ms Greiner said the eventual success of this program would be when parish communities are aware of all their vulnerable members and offer to help those most in need.
“Once families and neighbours are aware of resources available to combat elder abuse then light is shed upon it and it is no longer hidden,” she said.
“Once out in the open, changes leading to better lives start to occur.”
For more information on this project, Safeguarding the Elderly, contact Maria Kervin at maria.kervin@parracatholic.org.
Read more here about the Diocese of Parramatta’s Pastoral Plan.
