Today, we supported World Elder Abuse day by participating in Cardiff Council's event which was held in Cardiff City hall.

We also attended an reception at the Wales Millennium Centre, which was hosted by the Older People's Commissioner for Wales. The focus of this event was to launch 'Protection of Older People in Wales: a Guide to the Law' written by John Williams, Professor of Law at Aberystwyth University. It is an excellent document which simplifies the difficult area of adult protection law to help health and social care practitioners in their work with older people. We would thoroughly recommend that students, professionals and members of the public download a copy of the guide from the Commissioner's website 

In her speech today Ruth Mark's, the Older People's Commissioner said that elder abuse happens when an older person's human rights and dignity are violated. For example, physical attacks, sexual abuse, financial scams, psychological abuse and neglect.

Whilst acknowledging that abuse is not always easily defined because the causes are often complex and multi faceted she made the point that age discrimination often underlies abuse. Ruth Marks finished by saying:

'when we attach less value to someone, we care less about what happens to them. Elder abuse, like any other form of abuse, is completely unacceptable. We want to see a Wales in which respect for the rights and dignity of older people is a practical reality in all areas of life, where age discrimination is a thing of the past and where a positive view of ageing and older people prevails'.