Tackling the hidden problem in our aged care system

I couldn’t quite stop the words from coming out. It was a question I hadn’t written down, but I had to have the answer. As soon as it formed in my head, I blurted it out.

‘Are we all inherently ageist?’

Sitting down to talk with Dr Catherine Barrett, Founder and Director of Celebrate Ageing, it dawned on me that, at least in some small measure, we all struggle to accept ageing as a normal part of life. And it shows.

Dr Barrett’s reply is kind, but pulls no punches.

‘I think we are,’ she explains.

‘And we really need to understand how this plays out for older women, because there is a special kind of ageism directed towards them.’

‘If you look at cartoons, or look for a birthday card for a woman over the age of sixty, they all make fun of women’s bodies. It’s particularly caustic.’

For 25 years, Dr Barrett has been challenging ageism and advocating for greater respect for older people.

Her focus right now?

Collaborating with the Older Person’s Advocacy Network and the Older Women’s Network NSW on the ‘Ready to Listen’ campaign – aimed at addressing the hidden problem of sexual assault in residential aged care.

An estimated 50 people are sexually assaulted in Australian aged care homes every week, according to evidence presented to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.

Most of these people are women and many of them live with dementia.

Speaking on Future Women’s weekly news segment the Download recently, CEO of the Older Women’s Network NSW, Yumi Lee shared the reason she suspects many of these assaults go unreported.

‘There is not enough attention on this issue for so many reasons – including the fact that older women are invisible. Their voices are not heard,’ she said.

‘We need to recognise that sexual assault has an impact, no matter who you are, and no matter what your cognitive ability is,’ she said.

‘We point the finger at residential aged care and say “not good enough”, and that’s true, but there are lots of women’s organisations that we want to step up.’

After years of tireless advocacy, the team behind Ready to Listen launched a set of groundbreaking resources on World Elder Abuse Day.

The toolkit aims to help providers and workers understand the issue of sexual assault in residential aged care, including how to look out for signs of assault and how best to protect women in their care.

But according to both Yumi Lee and Dr Barrett – there’s much more work for us to do yet.

‘There are a lot of cultures that respect the elderly. And so I think there’s a real opportunity for us to say, well, if ageism is culturally embedded, who do we want to be as a culture? What are our cultural values?’ asks Dr Barrett.

‘We point the finger at residential aged care and say “not good enough”, and that’s true, but there are lots of women’s organisations that we want to step up.’

‘We need everybody on board because we need to look after each other.’

If you, or someone you know, is at risk of abuse in residential aged care, call the Older Persons Advocacy Network on 1800 700 600 or visit opan.org.au. For Elder Abuse call 1800ELDERHELP or 1800 353 374.

Check out the full discussion with Yumi Lee, CEO of the Older Women’s Network NSW, below. It was featured in Future Women’s weekly segment, The Download, live in our members-only Facebook group every Tuesday at 12pm AEST.