Elder abuse in Australia is the hidden epidemic that dare not speak its name.

But things are about to change with an innovative collaboration between service deliverers for the elderly seeking to change the system.

Recent special presentation at Orange Library focusing on prevention of elder abuse represented the first steps in reducing a problem that affects all levels of society, a leading local researcher in the field said.

“it doesn’t know any class distinctions, it can happen in the swishiest house in town or out in the back-blocks, it doesn’t matter; it’s a classless problem, and it’s going to get worse,” Director and Researcher with the Australian Centre for Elder Law, Adjunct Associate Professor at Charles Sturt University, Sue Field explained.

Highlighting the problems was partly the purpose of the ‘Older, Wiser Safer’ events held in conjunction with the NSW Seniors Festival and hosted by the Central West Region Collaborative for the Prevention of Abuse of Older People.

“This seminar is the first of our events,” Ass Prof Field said. “It came out of an initiative of the newly-appointed Ageing and Disability Commissioner in NSW.”

“My area of expertise is elder law and how it affects older people,” she said before the seminar in which she spoke on Financial Safety and Power of Attorney.

The event also covered phone and internet scams; physical and verbal abuse; communications and mediation, and financial information services available to the elderly.

Ass Prof Field believes that elder abuse is hidden because of embarrassment and shame by the victims. “The reason it is hidden, is because it is often perpetrated by the older children of the parent,” she said.

“With an ageing population I think it is only going to get worse, and that is why we have to do something about it.”

The two COVID-safe seminars at the Orange Library — supporters of the program — included included:

• Solicitor Jill Marshall from Legal Aid NSW, who spoke about phone and internet scams.

• Aged Crime Prevention Officer, Detective Senior Constable Warwick Campbell, speaking about physical safety and prevention of abuse.

• Adjunct Professor Sue Field, in relation to financial safety and power of attorney.

• Financial Information Services Officer Christine Wright.

• Relationships Australia’s Jane Atkinson talking about family dispute resolution.

Assoc Prof Field described the seminars as the first tentative steps in a new awareness and determination to tackle the problem.

“We described this event as like ‘speed dating’ or ‘wine tasting’, you get a small feel for the issues at hand; we’re going to run a series of them,” she said.

Assoc Prof Field explained that the Collaborative — being officially launched mid-year — is designed to pull-together interested parties from the sector to ensure a more cohesive and integrated approach to combat abuse of the elderly in our society.

“It’s made up of people from organisations that service the elderly and aged care providers; people who have an older client base and that can support each other with information and help,” she said.

Police Local Area Commands, including in Orange, have recently also had Aged Crime Prevention Officers appointed to focus on this previously-neglected area and who are working in concert with the Collaborative.

“While our official launch is in June, we’ve already had about four meetings a month or two apart, but this is our first seminar,” Assoc Prof Field said.

“As our society ages, it is going to become a greater problem and that is why efforts like the Collaborative are so important.

“Simply put, people just don’t talk about it,” Assoc Prof Field concluded.