A EuropeanStrategy to Combat Elder AbuseagainstOlder Women

The European Older People’s PlatformLa Plate-forme européenne des Personnes âgées

Partners

This project is lead by AGE, the European OlderPeople’s Platform www.age-platform.org incollaboration with:

ANBO www.anbo.nl The Netherlands

BIVAwww.biva.deGermany

E.D.Ewww.ede-eu.orgEurope

Fondation Nationale de Gérontologiewww.fng.frFrance

50+ Hellaswww.50plus.grGreece

Mestna zveza upokojencev Ljubljanawww.prostovoljstvo.orgSlovenia

NIACEwww.niace.org.ukUK

SPF, Sveriges Pensionärsförbundwww.spfpension.seSweden

Zivot 90www.zivot90.czCzech Republic

Commune de St JosseBelgium

This project is co-financed by the European Commission through theDaphne programme.

To learn more about theEuropean Strategy to CombatElder Abuse against OlderWomen, or to find out how toget involved, write to:coordinator.daphne@age-platform.org

How will the strategy bedeveloped?• Work on the charter and toolkit will be led by asteering committee of representatives from eachof the partner organisations.

• The charter will build on existing nationalinitiatives such as the Charter of Rights of Peoplein Need of Long-Term Care and Assistanceadopted in 2007 by the German Governmentand the French Charter of the rights of olderpeople with a disability or in a state ofdependency.

• A series of national workshops will bringtogether a whole spectrum of individuals andinstitutions involved in caring for older peopleincluding public authorities, formal and informalcarers, service providers, older peoplethemselves, and experts in the field. Eachworkshop will deal with a specific dimension ofelder abuse.

Impact of the strategy• The strategy will stress the importance ofawareness-raising among all those who areinvolved in the care and protection of olderpeople, and the empowerment of those at risk of,or facing abuse to protect themselves.

• The charter and implementation guide will bepresented to EU, national and local policy-makers, disseminated across the EU. They will betaken up by AGE members as awareness-raisingtools that can be used to encourage theadoption of strong guidelines at EU level, as wellas national and local strategies to prevent andtackle elder abuse.

• We will encourage stakeholders to support theimplementation of these guidelines and developways to assist people experiencing abuse by, forinstance, setting up reporting mechanisms.

A European Strategy toCombat Elder AbuseWith the support of the European Commission’sDaphne Programme, AGE is leading a network ofpartner organisations in the development of aEuropean strategy to combat elder abuseagainst older women. The strategy will comprise:

• A European charter setting out the indisputablerights of older people, and women in particular,who are dependent on a family member or careror are in need of long-term care or assistance.

• An accompanying implementation guideaddressing each right expressed in the charter,explaining what it means concretely and how itcan be protected.

Drawing on successful and innovative initiativesfrom across the EU, the implementation guide willaddress the following questions: What is elderabuse and how can it be spotted? Why does ithappen and how can it be prevented? When itdoes happen, how should it be treated?

Recommendations will be developed forEuropean, national and local authorities, serviceproviders, older people’s organisations andthose at risk of abuse.

The focus of the strategy• The strategy will adopt a broad definition ofabuse encompassing intentional andunintentional violence, mistreatment andneglect.

• The strategy will not focus exclusively on olderwomen and will address issues that are relevantto both sexes.

• Younger groups will benefit too: prevention andawareness-raising of those at risk must start at amuch younger age.

• The strategy will attempt to explore all forms ofelder abuse, and will draw on the expertise oforganisations that work to tackle abuse at anindividual, institutional, and systemic level.