According to a recent survey, almost half of bank workers witness elder abuse, and that’s why Crimestoppers, a charity from Essex, has partnered with Police Crime Commissioner Lindsay Whitehouse to raise awareness on the matter.
The members of the crime-fighting organization are promoting a new phone line that people can call anonymously and report an abuse of the elderly. The line is still in trials since its February launch, and it represents a joint initiative of the private and public department.
Initiators hope that having such a line will encourage people to not stay silent if they witness an abuse, whether it’s emotional, financial, physical or psychological. After testing it on a local level to see if it’s a success, Crimestoppers wish to expand the line’s range across the entire UK.
Today, June 15, people join together on World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, and in honor of that, an advertising van will be touring Essex and raising awareness on the matter by handing out flyers and talking to people in each district over the next 10 days.
Crimestoppers’ campaign manager Ann Scott explained that elder abuse is not tied to certain locations; it can happen anywhere – in a hospital, at a bank, in a care home or even in the victim’s own apartment.
People who have knowledge of such incidents – be they regular or isolated cases – are encouraged to call the line. No personal details are requested from people who reach out, as the safe cover of anonymity is designed to ease people’s concerns that they might be traced or asked later on to give statements about the incident they reported.
Whitehouse added that such awareness campaigns are relevant and they mean to teach people how to spot the signs of elder abuse. Either calling the police directly or using this anonymous phone line, it doesn’t matter, as long as you help to put an end to it.
Abuse should not be tolerated in any form, but taking any kind of advantage of the highly vulnerable members of our society, who should be treated with dignity and respect, needs to be addressed more.
Gary Clinton, service delivery manager for Age UK Essex’s advocacy service, said that educating people on the matter is incredibly important, because there are many different strands of elder abuse. The service wants to help more people speak up against something that’s not right.
Image Source: Misteryous Days of Mysterious Life