EU action needed on 'widespread' elder abuse

Nearly half of Europeans believe that the problem of neglect, mistreatment or abuse of older people is widespread in their country, a conference was told.

According to a Eurobarometer poll, seven out of ten EU citizens believe that dependent elderly people are at risk of being physically neglected or of suffering abuse.

The one-day conference on Monday was told such statistics show that the issue of elder abuse should be given greater priority at EU and member state level.

The commission organised the conference to put the issue on the agenda and trigger a public debate at EU level on the best ways of tackling it.

Participants were presented with information on the prevalence of elder abuse and possible strategies for preventing it.

Speakers included the commissioner for social affairs, Vladimír Špidla, several national ministers for social affairs and experts studying the extent of the problem.

A recently produced video report, addressing elder abuse in the EU and showing good examples of tackling poor treatment, neglect and abuse of dependent elderly, was shown.

Meanwhile, the Dublin-based European foundation for the improvement of living and working conditions (Eurofound) has launched a new campaign called ‘Working longer, living better – Europe’s coming of age’.

The campaign, which explores the impact of an ageing society and workforce, provides insights into developments at EU, national and company level.

It also brings together Eurofound’s research findings of good practice and strategies for change in the workplace, which it has compiled over the last decade.

"In our research over the past decade, the good news is that we have found that European companies have changed their attitudes towards older people," says Robert Anderson, Eurofound’s expert on ageing.

"Increasingly, older people are viewed as potential customers with considerable spending power and as a valuable resource in the workplace in terms of skills and knowledge."

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