Advocacy in action: National Older Persons Reference Group members Scott Hyams and Gwenda Darling
Age erodes people’s human rights.
‘To put it bluntly, you are not seen as an equal to our younger citizens,’ OPAN CEO Craig Gear told the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights last year.
1. Human rights legislation
That’s why OPAN called for explicit, tailored protections for older people in our submission on an Australian Human Rights Act.
2. United Nations convention
It’s also why we are asking the Federal Government to support the creation of a United Nations Convention on the Rights of Older Persons.
3. Rights-based advocacy
To address the ageist stereotypes that often prevent older people from accessing the care and support they need, aged care advocates frequently refer to the Australian Charter of Aged Care Rights, which restates rights that are already enshrined in law – the right to live without abuse, for example, or the right for older people to make choices about their care and personal and social life.
4. Intimacy and safe sexual expression
‘People don’t “grow out” of the need for connection and intimacy as they age, says Dr Catherine Barrett, director and founder of Celebrate Ageing Ltd.
‘Older people say to me: “sex is important, our sexual identity is important”.
‘At the very base is recognition of older people’s fundamental right to be fully human, their right to express themselves as sexual beings.’
OPAN partnered with Celebrate Ageing and OWN NSW on the pioneering #ReadyToListen project, which aims to build the skills and capacity of providers to better respond to – and prevent – sexual assault in residential aged care.
Access the full suite of #ReadyToListen resources, including the Charter of Rights and Responsibilities in Residential Aged Care.
Replay OPAN’s Your right to intimacy webinar.
5. Supported decision-making
Lack of choice and control was one of the top presenting issues in our annual review of the more than 44,000 cases of information and advocacy support delivered by advocates in 2023-24.
In residential aged care homes, providers often made decisions on behalf of an older person or prioritised the decisions of family members or substitute decision-makers over the wishes and preferences of the older person.
Older people, like all adults, have the right to make decisions about the care and services they receive and the risks they are willing to take. This right must be equally recognised under law.
Everyone has the right to make decisions about their life, the care and services they receive and the risks they are willing to take including people living with dementia or other cognitive conditions.
While someone may not have the capacity to understand the extent of, and manage, their assets, for example, they can still make decisions about where they want to live and who they wish to spend time with.
Read our position statement.
Download our fact sheet.
For more information, see our Self-advocacy toolkit,
6. Health and medication
Ageist stereotypes that incorrectly assume poor health is an unavoidable consequence of ageing prevent older people from receiving the care they need. These stereotypes are commonly held by care professionals and older people themselves.
The Charter of Aged Care Rights also supports older people’s right to ask questions about the medication they are prescribed, to understand the risks and benefits involved, and to be informed about alternative strategies that do not involve medication.
These rights are underpinned by a new clinical care standard, developed by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, which aims to reduce the inappropriate use of psychotropic medicines, particularly for managing behaviours of concern.
Visit our webpage.
Replay our Medication: it’s your choice update webinar.
7. Preventing abuse
About 50 people are sexually assaulted in Australian aged care homes every week, according to the Aged Care Royal Commission. Most of them are women and most live with dementia.
Our #ReadyToListen project challenges the widespread assumption that the testimony of older people who report sexual assault is unreliable.
Developed and reviewed by a team with broad-based expertise in residential aged care and sexual assault, it also debunks the myth that older people who live with dementia or cognitive impairment don’t benefit from trauma-informed support.
At the heart of this project, for which OPAN has partnered with Celebrate Ageing Ltd and the Older Women’s Network of NSW, is the message that it’s not dementia that makes people vulnerable to sexual assault – but rather society’s attitude to dementia.
This is backed up by a recent KPMG study which found that in the majority (58%) of sexual assaults in aged care homes, staff reported no impact on the victim/survivor.
OPAN’s Responding to and presenting sexual assault in residential aged care facilitator course supports the training of residential aged care workers in understanding the risk and indicators of sexual assault and believing those who disclose.
8. Deinstitutionalisation of aged care
Older-style multi-bed age care homes ‘tend to foster … a loss of autonomy, freedom and purpose,’ says Geoff Rowe, CEO of ADA Australia, one of OPAN’s 9 network members.
‘The disability and mental health sectors saw the benefits for people moving to community-based living and support decades ago, so why is residential aged care one of the last bastions of the institution?’, he told The Australian.
With the number of Australians aged 85 and over projected to rise from 534,000 in 2021 to 1.28 million by 2041, Mr Rowe said the government should substantially bolster support for in-home care and invest in a more diverse suite of housing options that allow older people to more comfortably live out their final years in their own communities.
Read the full article.
Access our position statement.
