As part of Safer Ageing Week in November 2024 we at Hourglass, a UK-wide charity promoting safer ageing, published results from a survey we conducted in partnership with YouGov. Various questions were asked of participants around the theme of economic abuse and the financial exploitation of older people. An alarming picture emerged across the four nations about how we as a society view our older population.
In Northern Ireland 32% of respondents did not believe that ‘Taking items from an older relative’s home without asking’ is a form of abuse; 26% of respondents did not believe that ‘Using a Power of Attorney over an older relative for personal financial gain’ is a form of abuse; 20% of respondents did not believe that ‘‘Scamming’ an older person out of money either online or over the phone’ is a form of abuse and 33% of respondents did not believe that ‘Family members trying to change the Wills of older relatives’ is a form of abuse.
The popular image of abuse being perpetrated by strangers – staff in care homes, for example – should be reassessed in the context of our research. While as a society we recognise that older people often live in fear due to anti-social behaviour in the communities which they live, or nefarious individuals seeking to prey their vulnerability in the digital age, we need to realign the public’s understanding of what abuse of older people looks like and how it can often go unnoticed. Distressingly it is often those closest to the older person who are perpetrating the abuse; the family members and friends they look to for comfort, care, company and safety in their old age. With attitudes such as those highlighted in our survey it is no wonder that many older people aren’t able to live out their later years in safety and with dignity. Economic abuse is often a gateway to reporting many other forms of abuse on the Hourglass helpline.
With one in six of the Northern Ireland population now 65 or older it is abundantly clear that this culture of complacency and indifference needs to fundamentally change if we are to create a safer ageing society by our intended target of 2050. This requires early intervention and therefore we must act now. We have a generation to get this right and it is our legislators and policymakers who can make the systemic change required to do so.
Hourglass welcomes the Adult Protection Bill and its introduction to the Assembly on 17 June. We will be central to the debate about how best to progress and refine any future legislative change to ensure that older people’s safety is given parity. Hourglass is particularly keen to see powers of entry extended to social workers who suspect abuse of older people in their own homes.
Despite progress being made on the Adult Protection Bill, Hourglass feel that there is more that the Executive can do to help our ageing population. Below are a few actions we are calling on the Executive to take during the remainder of the current mandate:
Begin plans to research, undertake consultation and develop a strategy to tackle abuse and neglect of older people. Hourglass supports the Ending Violence Against Women and Girls strategy but urge the Executive to consider a bespoke strategy which is tailored to the specific and often unique circumstances of older victims and survivors. This strategy would complement EVAWG rather than work at cross purposes.
The strategy should include specific commitments to fund and properly resource specialist services for older victims and survivors of abuse. This would save money in the long-term by ensuring that complex cases are being directed to those with expert rather than generalist knowledge and experience.
Consult evidence from and provide adequate and ring-fenced funding and support for charities such as Hourglass which offer crucial front-line support services to older victims and survivors. Supporting older victims and survivors and raising awareness of abuse is something that requires time and expertise. Charities like Hourglass need multi-year funding to prosper and support as our population ages.
Ensure crime data collection remains robust and commit to the routine publication of Health and Social Care data on adult safeguarding.
Commit to support, raise awareness of and fund the annual Hourglass Safer Ageing Index.
The work doesn’t begin and end with politicians. By helping change policies and laws they can put the foundations for safer ageing in place, but it is incumbent on us as citizens to build on those foundations and call time on the abuse and neglect of older people in Northern Ireland.
An ageing population is something to celebrate. However, we must urgently challenge the harmful attitudes and ageist assumptions that too often contribute to the marginalisation of older people and conceal abuse in later life. Abuse can take many forms – physical, sexual, emotional, economic and neglect – and it frequently goes unreported due to fear, isolation or stigma. To grow a truly safer ageing society, we need a cultural shift that supports any legislative change. We need to value older people as active, respected members of our communities.
Most of the people reading this piece will grow old one day. What sort of a society do we want when we reach that stage in our lives, whether it be imminent or in a generation or two? We must work together to call time on ageism and the conditions and attitudes which normalise the abuse of older people. This is a collaborative effort – a bargain between us as citizens and those who govern us – to ensure the safety and dignity of our older people for generations to come.
Take the first step today. Take the OATH (Older Age Tomorrow’s Hope)
We are excited to announce that the Hourglass Conference 2025 will be held in Edinburgh, Scotland on the 12th November.
This year’s theme is ‘The Safer Ageing Summit’ as we look towards our aim to create a Safer Ageing Society by 2050.
The abuse of older people is at an epidemic level, with calls and messages to our helpline services increasing by 43% from 2022-2024.
With rising cases of abuse and an ageing population, the need for a safer ageing society has never been more urgent.
We’ll hear from keynote speakers and host panel discussions on a range of topics such as:
The economic abuse of older people: Willies’ Law and LPAs
The sexual abuse of older people
The abuse of older people in minority ethnic communities
Reforming social care
Dr Gareth Mulvenna is External Affairs Lead for Northern Ireland and Scotland with Hourglass. Before joining Hourglass he worked as Policy & Public Affairs Manager for mental health charity MindWise, a researcher with the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry Northern Ireland and was involved in setting up the Truth Recovery Independent Panel which forms part of an integrated truth investigation looking into the workings of Mother and Baby Institutions, Magdalene Laundries, and Workhouses in Northern Ireland. Gareth has also worked in the Court and Inquest team at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland where he assisted victims and survivors in accessing information relating to legacy cases during the Troubles. Gareth is interested in trauma-informed practice and has developed a professional reputation as someone who is a good listener.