PACIFIC ELDER ABUSE
With the rise in the number of older people in Aotearoa’s Pacific population, the spotlight is being shone upon a problem that comes with it – elder abuse.
New Zealand’s Minister for Seniors, Dr Ayesha Verrall, said earlier this year that at least one in ten older people in the country experience elder abuse, and sadly our Pacific population is part of that.
Abuse can come in many forms. Financial abuse is involved in more than half of elder abuse cases, but it can be hard to identify. A family member may, for instance, just move in without paying rent or bills or even try to pressure an older person to change their will. Psychological abuse is another issue – signs can include intimidation, humiliation, threats and swearing. But there is hope.
Vaka Tautua is a national Pacific health provider offering Elder Abuse Response Services (EARS). Ngatuakana Kino is based at its West Auckland branch and says that it is a growing problem.
In the past three years Vaka Tautua has dealt with around 150 cases of elder abuse, with the numbers growing each year. Kino said the abuse – financial, physical, and emotional left victims lost and isolated.
“In some cases, they have lost their communication with the world,” she told Stuff.co.nz during an interview.
“When no family is allowed to come over to the home, and it’s basically mum and son and the son is the abuser ... that becomes a norm for her.
“They need to be aware they can speak out and that they can get support.”
Part of that support at Vaka Tautua is in offering seven Pacific languages, plus sign language, to help them engage with matua in their own tongue. They describe this as building trust through language.
There is also a dedicated social worker for matua with a disability.
As well as the service Vaka Tautua also runs weekly Matua Ola Manuia Day Programmes to give Pacific elders a chance to meet in their specific ethnic groups.
The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) accepted that elder abuse was “an increasing issue in Aoteraroa” in a 25-page report released in 2020. It predicted the older population would almost double – from around 750,000 in 2019 to more than 1.3 million – by 2038.
It warned that over those years the number of Pacific people would significantly increase and that itself would bring additional problems as many public and private organisations tend to cater for the country’s European majority.
With that in mind, part of its strategy is Pacific Prosperity – Our People, Our Solutions, Our Future.
Its aim is to rejuvenate the Department’s delivery and engagement of services for Pacific people, families, and communities.
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PASEFIKA PROUD
Our Families, Our People, Our Responsibility
Pacific families and communities are safe, resilient and enjoy wellbeing.
DOWNLOAD from Pasefika Proud Resources | Pasefika Proud Pathways for Change 2019-2023
Wellbeing outcome for Pacific families = Personal security and safety
Pacific families have:
- Reduced tolerance for, experience of and use of violence
- Strategies to help manage conflict, anger, disappointment
- Access to safe places in times of danger
- Access to effective, responsive services
- An increased sense of personal safety