Today’s Ageism Awareness Day fights against age-related abuse

Key points:

• Ageism Awareness Day, held on October 9, 2024, helps bring attention to examples of ageism and how older Australians can seek help for themselves
• Ageism can affect older Australians in the community and workplaces, but inaccurate representation in advertisements concerns advocates
• Subtle age discrimination can lead to abuse of older Australians for whom help is available through a national abuse helpline

Ageism Awareness Day is held this year on October 9, 2024, to raise awareness and understanding about ageism and how it can lead to abuse of older Australians.

More than two in five older Australians have experienced age-related discrimination, according to a recent Australian Human Rights Commission report.

Examples of ageism include assuming the level of support for an older person without considering them as an individual with strengths, excluding a person based on age, making decisions for an older person without consulting them or taking control of their finances or assets based on age.

Council on the Ageing Australia Chief Executive Officer Patricia Sparrow indicated why Ageism Awareness Day is crucial for ensuring that ageism doesn’t exist in the future.

“Ageism impacts us all. Ageism Awareness Day serves as a powerful reminder of the work we must do to create a more inclusive society for people of all ages,” she said.

“It’s an opportunity to reflect on how age-based stereotypes and discrimination affect us all, regardless of our current age.

“With Australia’s population aging rapidly — projections show the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double in the next four decades — addressing ageism has become both a moral imperative and an economic necessity.”

Council on the Ageing Victoria and Seniors Rights Victoria CEO Ben Rogers also highlighted the impact of ageism and the importance of advocacy.

“Ageism is the discrimination and mistreatment of people solely because of their age and addressing ageist issues is quite frankly at the heart of each and every one of our advocacy initiatives,” he said.

“Addressing ageism is a proactive way that we can make society more welcoming to older Victorians and potentially prevent members of our community from the devastating impacts of elder abuse.”

However, Jane Caro, an author and anti-ageism activist, highlighted that it’s not only in everyday situations that ageism is present.

“There are so many blatantly ageist ads out there but most of them go either unnoticed or tolerated,” she said.

“Ageism really is our last accepted prejudice. If advertisers and their agencies excluded or clumsily stereotyped any other group the way they do older people, the community backlash would break the internet.”

Age discrimination can occur more subtly, as explored by researchers who investigated the presence of older people in highly rated films. 

In one study, 11 percent of speaking characters were aged 60 years or older. This is under-representative of the older population as approximately 16 percent of Australians are 65 years or older, as per recent data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

Approximately one in two Australians ‘feel that the portrayal of older people in advertising is unfair.’

However, ageism isn’t only present in movies and advertisements — it can occur anywhere, including in healthcare settings, the community, retail stores and workplaces. For example, age discrimination can occur in workplaces including reduced access to employment as an older person, e.g. shorter shifts or reduced hours.

More than one in four Australians over the age of 50 reported age discrimination at their workplace in a recent national inquiry by the Australian Human Rights Commission.

While age discrimination can affect many older Australians, some people may be at greater risk of being abused. 

Approximately 15 percent of older Australians reported experiencing abuse, according to recent data from the Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Types of abuse of older Australians include physical, financial, psychological, sexual assault and neglect. Risk factors can include previous abuse, difficulty managing stress, poor mental or physical health and social isolation.

Manager and Principal Lawyer of Seniors Rights Victoria Avital Kamil commented on the reality of ageism and how it can affect older Australians.

“Ageism is at the core of elder abuse — it is a form of discrimination that can result in terrible outcomes for older people,”  she said.

“Elder abuse is a pernicious and underreported form of family violence, which one in six older Australians are expected to experience this year. We received over 12,000 calls to our helpline last year, showing that there are so many people out there who are suffering the consequences of ageism.”

The Australian Government offers free advocacy support for older Australians through the National Aged Care Advocacy Program. Any older Australian who receives government-funded aged care support or is looking for aged care is eligible. Families or carers of an older person are also eligible to access these services and can include support around your aged care rights, aged care options and solving related concerns and problems.

The Senior Rights Victoria helpline is available to older Victorians, aged 60 years and over, and Indigenous Victorians who are 40 years and over. Call the helpline on 1300 368 821 or visit the Seniors Rights Victoria website.

Alternatively, older Australians can call the free national elder abuse helpline on 1800 353 374 and their call will be directed to the elder abuse phone service in their state or territory.

If you need mental health counselling or crisis support, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or visit the website.

While the International Day of Older Persons was held recently on October 1, 2024, to celebrate older Australians, Ageism Awareness Day is used to illustrate the concerns and subtle bias that can occur towards older Australians.

Have you experienced ageism as an older Australian?

Let the team at Talking Aged Care know on social media. 

For more information and news in the aged care industry, subscribe to our free newsletter. 

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