Safer Ageing Week

This time it’s personal:

Calling time on the abuse and harm of older people

30 November – 4 December 2020

Hourglass is committed to protecting older people from abuse and working towards a world where they are all empowered to live safely and healthily. 

In 2020, in the midst of a global pandemic, this is more important than ever. That’s why we’re making 30 November – 4 December 2020 Safer Ageing Week – a time to focus on what safer ageing should look like, and calling on the public to stand up and be counted. 

At the start of the first lockdown this year, we revealed that more than 1 in 3 people do not believe that ‘acts of domestic violence directed towards an older person’ count as abuse. Nearly half do not believe that failing to attend to an older person’s needs in a timely fashion is abuse. We’ve seen a marked increase in calls to our Helpline since the first national lockdown,  with many older people living in extremely vulnerable situations. 

Current restrictions, and possibly more to come, alongside winter and the pressure cooker environment re-created at every festive season, all leave our older people incredibly vulnerable to harm and abuse. Older people are once again at risk of being unable to leave their homes, trapped with their abusers; relatives and professionals are unable to visit and those natural safeguards offered by others who may witness abuse or hear disclosures, are dramatically reduced. 

Hourglass want to end the suffering of older people experiencing abuse, harm and neglect, and create the environment where safer ageing can be guaranteed for all. 

 

During Safer Ageing Week we will highlight a number of new ways people can access support from Hourglass.  The charity is revolutionising the way it provides advice and support to the victims, families, practitioners and our third and public sector partners.  

Safer Ageing Week is about creating the conversation, raising awareness of the abuse of older people, and ensuring that those who need our services can access support 24/7.  We are now calling on you, the public, to help spread the message and work alongside us to support those experiencing abuse and towards a future free from abuse.

View Jess Phillips MP calls for action Video here

View Hourglass' open letter to Priti Patel MP

View Safer Ageing Press Release

See all those who supported Safer Ageing Week

View our Safer Ageing week opening statement