Just imagine how you would feel if someone you love dearly is being abused? Just imagine!

Why do we need to mark this day?

The United Nations named this day to raise awareness of the often silent abuse – this being physical, emotional and financial abuse of the elderly. This is not country specific or gender specific. This does happen and sadly this is a global problem, so we need to work together to safeguard our elderly.

We represent some of these clients and it is important for us all to understand and help manage these issues faced by our senior citizens. With people living longer, we, as a society, need to focus on how we can prevent elder abuse and protect those who are affected.

The facts

The global population of people of the age of 60 is said to be about 1.2 billion in 2025.  Around 4-6% of the elderly will have experienced some form of abuse at home.  The devastating impact on the victim is hard to imagine, but in simple terms this can lead to serious long term physical and psychological issues.  Some of those abused are not able to speak for themselves, as they lack mental capacity or are simply too scared to speak out.  Quite possibly, because the offender could be a member of their family, a care giver or a friend.

What can we do to champion the rights of our elderly?

As individuals and as a business, together we can make a difference by working together to empower our senior citizens to live a dignified and safe life, free from fear and abuse.

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day aims to prevent elder abuse incidents by encouraging organisations and individuals to understand the problem and by educating society to work together to recognise the mistreatment of older people, no matter where they live. Care homes, hospitals, businesses, communities and individuals must join together to highlight concerns and to get the right help to those in need of protection.

More helpful information can be found with Age UK and Action on Elder Abuse.

We at Ridley & Hall are proud to champion the rights of the elderly and we have a specialist team that deals specifically with financial abuse and the needs of elderly clients, for further information please contact us on 0800 8 60 62 65.

The writer is Daxa Patel, a member of the charity Action on Elder Abuse, who works tirelessly to support our senior citizens.

 Daxa Patel – Clinical Negligence and Litigation