World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is June 15th each year. It serves as a call-to-action for individuals, organizations, and communities to raise awareness about elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Many local organizations schedule events on and around June 15th.
We hope you will join others around the nation and world in observing this important day by carrying out activities such as:
- Developing an educational program or press conference;
- Volunteering to call or visit an isolated senior who may be at risk of elder abuse, neglect or exploitation; or
- Carrying out any activity that aims to create awareness of elder mistreatment, such as submitting an editorial or press release to your local newspaper.
The International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (INPEA) has produced the Community Guide to Raise World Awareness on Adult Abuse Tool Kit. The Toolkit provides sample ideas and templates for activities and examples of materials, resources, proclamations, and messages. The Toolkit is available for free download at http://www.inpea.net/.
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is an excellent opportunity to share information about abuse, neglect, and exploitation in later life. However, raising awareness of mistreatment of older persons is an ongoing effort, not limited to one day. AoA has a long-standing commitment to addressing elder mistreatment, and to protecting the dignity, rights, and financial security of older people. To that end, we are working to carry out the following objectives through our Prevention of Elder Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation program and the National Center on Elder Abuse:
- Increase the awareness of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation to guide programs that protect older people;
- Increase the ability of professionals, especially those of the aging network and community-based agencies who have access to frail seniors on a daily basis, to prevent elder abuse by encouraging the development and dissemination of timely and accurate information on best practices; and
- Foster the development of programs, models, and initiatives that measurably decrease the incidence of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
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Resources and Links
International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse for more information on World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
National Center on Elder Abuse for data, fact sheets, and other information on elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation in the U.S.
The National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life for information on coordinating elder abuse prevention efforts with domestic violence and sexual assault programs
Eldercare Locator to contact your local area agency on agency about volunteering to call or visit an isolated senior.
AoA Prevention of Elder Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation program
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| Last Modified: 11/25/2008 3:25:51 PM |
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