Social development Minister Lindiwe Zulu
Social development Minister Lindiwe Zulu has called upon South Africans to respect, defend and uphold the dignity, integrity and safety of older persons as the world commemorates the World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.
Under the theme, “Digital Equity for All Ages,” the day, which seeks to prioritise the protection of the lives and the wellbeing of the country’s older persons, is about raising awareness about the need for access and meaningful participation in the digital space for senior citizens. Hence this day is focusing towards ensuring that older persons are digitally empowered.
South Africa has confirmed that it has an ageing population with estimates indicating that the proportion of older persons aged 60 years and older, has grown from 7,6% in 2002 to 9,1% in 2020. It was projected that by 2015 the proportion of older persons in South Africa will have increased to 9.5% of the population, that is, 4.24 million older persons.
According to the Department of Social Development, in July 2020, about 5,43 million people in South Africa were aged 60 and above. This older persons’ population increase heightens the concern about elder abuse and neglect.
Historically, the World Elder Abuse Awareness Day was initiated by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (INPEA) in 2006 and recognised as a United Nations Day by the General Assembly in its resolution A/RES/66/127 adopted in 2011.
In a statement issued by the department this day is intended at raising public awareness of elder abuse and remembrance of those who died as a result of elder abuse. Elder abuse is a serious problem that affects millions of older persons. Its commemoration therefore provides an opportunity for communities around the world to promote a better understanding of abuse and neglect of older persons by raising awareness of the cultural, social, economic and demographical processes affecting elder abuse and neglect,
Older persons face various kinds of mistreatments and discrimination. Elder abuse is a global public health, human rights, and criminal justice problem. It goes beyond, socioeconomic classes, regions, languages, and ethnicities, but remains an understudied and under reported phenomenon, read the statement.
It added that just as the older persons are recovering from the impact of COVID-19, the devastating floods in KZN and Eastern Cape also remain a blow to the recovery plan in South Africa, especially, the impact it had on the lives and wellbeing of older persons. Older persons living in their homes and residential facilities were negatively affected by the floods.
The commemoration also comes after Minister Zulu tabled in Parliament the Department’s budget vote to the National Council of Provinces.
In support of these international occasions, the South African government recently finalised the Older Persons Amendment Bill and Chapter five (5) of this legislation focusses on strengthening intersectoral collaboration for the effective protection of older persons and management of abuse of the elderly.
In addition, through the Department of Social Development, government facilitated the establishment of the Older Persons Abuse Register, an initiative managed in partnership with the Department of Justice, through the Integrated Justice System.The training of the system users and key stakeholders is currently underway across provinces since the year 2021 and the training continues during this financial year to ensure the capturing and processing of all reported cases of abuse of older persons.
Through this initiative, the Department has reached over two hundred social workers, as well as key stakeholders in the field of ageing, which should lead to an improved reporting, successful prosecution and safety of older persons.
Zulu also called on South Africans to remember all senior citizens who succumbed to the COVID-19 over the recent years.
