Kelly Vincent – 5RPH Interview on Elder Abuse
23/09/2015
On 23rd September 2015, Dignity for Disability MLC Kelly Vincent was interviewed on radio station 5RPH about the Motion she introduced for the Social Development Committee to inquire into and report on matters relating to elder abuse in South Australia. Here is the audio and transcript from the interview.
Pam Green: It’s time now to welcome Dignity for Disability MLC, Kelly Vincent to question time. Hi Kelly.
Kelly Vincent: Hi Pam.
Pam Green: Well I understand you’ve introduced a motion about elder abuse to the parliament this afternoon. You would like the Social Development Committee to investigate the matter no doubt. Is elder abuse really that common?
Kelly Vincent: Unfortunately Pam from our dealings with constituents as well as people doing research in the area it would seem that the abuse of elderly people is far more common than we would like to be and more common than we would think. Certainly as our population ages and in South Australia where we do have an ageing population, it’s going to be more and more important that we are aware of the issue that can come to be when we age and the vulnerabilities that can arise. I’ve put in place a social planning and legislative move that will protect elderly people from some of the abuse that they can experience.
Pam Green: And just what are the defining points you make in the motion? What key things would you like investigated?
Kelly Vincent: Well Pam, there are ten main points we’d like to be researched under the terms of reference that I’ve put forward to the parliament today. You can jump on the internet if you want to see those in detail but broadly speaking they cover investigation into the prevalence of abuse of elders including but not limited to, financial abuse; physical abuse; sexual abuse; psychological abuse; social abuse; chemical abuse; and neglect experienced by older people. And what the most commons forms of that abuse are and what kind of services older people are looking to and wanting to access to gain help if they are being abused, as well as the adequacy of existing policies, resources and powers around protecting people from abuse and also taking action once abuse does occur. This could include agencies like SA Police, the Office of the Public Advocate, the Aged Rights Advocacy Service, the Legal Services Commission, the Public Trustee and Domiciliary Care. So broadly speaking we’re looking at how to prevent abuse, how to identify what kind of abuse is occurring, how prominent that abuse is, and what existing policies exist to stop it as well as new policies we could put into place to further prevent abuse.
Pam Green: And Kelly are there any other types of abuse that seem to be more commonly perpetrated against older people in our community?
Kelly Vincent: Unfortunately there are Pam, many of them. I guess two types spring to mind, one being financial exploitation. That seems to be more common amongst older people from my dealings with constituents. Firstly financial abuse by family members, friends, or other community members that might try to gain favours through wills or other methods of monetary gain. And the second unfortunately is financial scams which are becoming more prevalent as we use advancing technologies such as phone and internet more and more in our daily lives. And the higher proportion of older people in our community have home landlines so they may well be at a higher risk for tele-communication scams because of the use of a landline as well as the fact that generally speaking older people may not necessarily use the internet. Of course that’s a general comment but when people are perhaps not up to speed with advancing technology they can be somewhat more vulnerable for that reason as well.
Pam Green: Kelly as always thanks for your time today.
Kelly Vincent: Thanks Pam.
Pam Green: Dignity for Disability MLC Kelly Vincent.
