Seniors Rights Victoria only has capacity to respond to calls from older people experiencing or at risk of elder abuse. If your matter is an emergency, please call 000. If you are a concerned friend or family member, please encourage the older person to call us or click here for access to information and resources.
Thanks to funding from the Integrated Services Fund, established by the Victorian Government and administered by the Federation of Community Legal Centres, Seniors Rights Victoria (SRV) and Dementia Australia (DA) have been working in partnership. Since 2018 we've worked together to deliver information for people with dementia and their carers. The information supports people to protect their rights and wishes, in order to safeguard them from future distress and potential elder abuse.
The increased risk of elder abuse for people with dementia is often the result of a loss of decision-making capacity. This can result in decisions being made for them, that might not align with their wishes. It can be difficult to have the conversations required in order to ensure wishes are understood, meaning planning is often neglected or avoided. This makes people with dementia more vulnerable as their condition progresses.
As part of SRV’s project with DA, informative videos were made and are now available on our website. The videos will be of interest to anyone working in primary prevention, or with clients who are experiencing dementia. There is one longer video, containing all the information and it has also been broken down into five shorter videos. There is also a discussion guide for each video.
The videos were officially launched by John Chesterman, Victoria’s Deputy Public Advocate on 15th June, as part of our Stir a Cuppa for Seniors event (link to article about WEAAD) on World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD).
If you work with a group that may benefit from a presentation, followed by a discussion, about planning for the future, please contact lbest@seniorsrights.org.au
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If you are in Victoria and are experiencing or at risk of elder abuse, help is available through our confidential helpline on 1300 368 821.
If you are a concerned friend or family member, please encourage the older person to call us or you can access information and resources here. You can also find a lawyer via the Law Institute of Victoria website.
If it is an emergency, call 000.
