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Our policy priorities
  • 2022 State Election: Make Victoria Age Friendly
  • Investing in Older Victorians
Aged Care
  • Telling your story
Information
  • Looking for information?
  • COVID-19 resources for older Victorians
  • COTA WISE services
  • Aged Care Navigators
  • How-to guides
  • It’s Your Energy - New Energy Rights for Victorians
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News
  • Latest News
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  • Media Releases
COTA Connects
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  • Older Men: New Ideas (OM:NI) men’s discussion groups
  • Employment Support
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Living Longer Living Stronger
  • Find a Living Longer Living Stronger program in your area
  • Living Longer Living Stronger Online
  • Exercising at home
  • Living Longer Living Stronger providers and instructors
Exercising at home
  • Random Acts of Exercise
Employment Support
  • Women Working Together
  • Locals Working Together
Victorian Seniors Festival
  • Victorian Senior of the Year Awards
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Elder Abuse

In this section

In this section:

  • Our policy priorities
  • Policy positions
  • Stories of Change
  • Policy Development Committee (PDC)
  • Aged Care
  • Assistive Technology for All
  • Ageism in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Elder Abuse
  • Social Isolation
  • Submissions
  • End of life
  • COTA Green Sages

Elder Abuse

Elder Abuse

The prevention of, and response to, elder abuse is one of COTA Victoria’s key policy areas. Our work in the elder abuse sector is carried out through Seniors Rights Victoria, the key state-wide service and specialist community legal centre.

What is elder abuse?

Elder abuse is any act that causes harm to an older person and is carried out by someone they know and trust. The abuse may be physical, social, financial, psychological or sexual and can include mistreatment and neglect.

What policy work does Seniors Right Victoria do?

Seniors Rights Victoria advances the rights of older people and works to prevent elder abuse by advocating for policy changes and law reform. This involves making submissions to government inquiries and Royal Commissions, promoting our policy positions through discussion papers, and conducting and taking part in research to better understand the contexts in which elder abuse occurs.

Seniors Rights Victoria advocacy work and submission to the Royal Commission into Family Violence was integral to elder abuse being recognised as a form of family violence. As the government continues its reform agenda we continue to provide guidance and advice on ensuring older people are well-served by the family violence system.

Our submissions to government inquiries bring together our cross-sector expertise and our experience working with older people who have faced elder abuse. Our submission to the Royal Commission on Aged Care highlighted the ways older people’s rights can be disregarded when the focus is on safeguarding rather than respect. Our submission to the Royal Commission into Victoria’s mental health services showed the way elder abuse can result in mental distress, as well as how mental illness can make someone at higher risk of abuse.

Discussion papers

Our ongoing series of discussion papers assists professionals in a variety of sectors to better understand elder abuse, and how it intersects with other issues. We also instigate and contribute to research projects to develop the evidence base regarding the drivers and contexts of elder abuse. By unpacking the unique characteristics of elder abuse we can better shape primary prevention and interventions in the sector.

One of our current priorities is trying to better understand what drives people to perpetrate elder abuse, and how this might be addressed. We are looking for opportunities to build the evidence base regarding perpetrators and how their behaviours can be mitigated.

Get in touch

Please get in touch if you require more information or would like to discuss research, policy and systemic advocacy opportunities.

Related resources

Challenging Ageism
12 July 2019, COTA Publication
An Agenda for Ageing
1 April 2019, COTA Publication
See more resources

Related submissions

Pre-budget Submission November 2021 Investing in Senior Victorians
15 November 2021, COTA Submissions
Bidding for older Victorians: COTA Victoria’s report card on the 2020-21 state budget
15 December 2020, COTA Submissions
Religious Freedom Bills – Second Exposure Draft
3 February 2020, COTA Submissions
See more submissions

Related news

Who contacted SRV?
26 September 2022
Recognising World Elder Abuse Awareness Day around Victoria
14 June 2022
Join our Policy Development Committee
11 March 2022
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