Organisations behind a multilingual campaign to highlight the issue of elder abuse say the issue is getting worse due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Respect Victoria chief executive Tracey Gaudry told SBS News that increased financial pressures on families during the crisis had heightened the risks faced by older Australians.
“People may have lost their jobs, may be moving back into the home place, the instances of exploitation and family violence can heighten. It can be emotional violence, it could be financial violence and it could be coercive,” she said.
Lawyer Ali French, who works with the financial abuse team at Redfern Legal Centre in Sydney, said often people don't realise they're victims of financial abuse.
"The clients that we see at the financial abuse service have been in relationships with a person they have trusted, often for many, many years. You don't think that someone that you love and care about and that loves and cares for you should financially abuse and control you to the point you have no money,” she said.
“So I think coming to the realisation that that’s the type of relationship you’re in, is really difficult and helping clients recognise that it’s not their fault is one of the important parts of the service.”
Read the full story here (SBS News, 16 June 2020)
