In 2023, the Portuguese Association for the Support of Victims (APAV) provided assistance to four elderly victims of crime and violence every day, an increase of 9.4% compared to the previous year, says the association, which is launching an information campaign this Saturday.
On International Awareness Day for the Prevention of Violence Against Elders, which is celebrated this Saturday, APAV is launching a campaign that aims to raise awareness that the phenomenon of violence against elders is growing and is not limited to easily identifiable forms of violence per se.
It also involves behavior that is clearly non-violent, but which deprives older people of decision-making, autonomy, freedom and dignity, is a violation of human rights and opens the door to more serious forms of violence.
Institutionalizing older people against their will, excluding them from managing their own assets or depriving them of the ability to vote are some examples mentioned in the campaign, whose slogan is: “In the end, the main role is mine. She’s yours. This is all”.
“With this campaign we wanted to draw attention to certain behaviors that (…) take away power, autonomy and dignity from older people,” said Luse Marta Carmo from APAV.
The official lamented that today’s society views aging as synonymous with loss of ability and greater dependence, and therefore older people are often viewed “not as full citizens, but almost as people who do not have the full ability to exercise their rights.”
“This campaign is essentially about warning older people to complain,” but also “warning family members themselves that this behavior is a form of abuse” that they may not be aware of .
Last year, APAV supported a total of 1,671 older people who were victims of crime and violence, equivalent to an average of four victims per day.
That’s a 9.4% increase over 2022, which Martha Carmo said doesn’t necessarily mean an increase in violence.
The increase in help-seeking may be the result of increased knowledge of existing services or even more calls to APAV from other social support organizations and security forces.
According to the person in charge, the prevalence of violence against older people has remained unchanged, but as the population ages, the number of cases will tend to increase.
According to older people who have received APAV support in recent years, more than three in four are women, half are aged 65 to 74 and retired, and most cases of violence are committed by sons or daughters (29.1%). There is also a significant percentage of cases where the spouse is the aggressor.
In the vast majority of cases, victimization continues. According to Martha Carmo, victims do not report crimes for a variety of reasons, which may include fear of reprisals, escalation of violence or not believing what they are saying.
The victim may also be ashamed to admit that they have been victimized by their own son or daughter, “the person who was originally the victim they helped raise and mold.”
There is also some fear, especially among people who have victimized their sons or daughters, about the consequences of a possible criminal investigation, prosecution and sentencing of the aggressors.
“Here there is often a problem of wanting to protect the person with whom he still has an emotional relationship,” recalls Marta Carmo.
It is to counter this resistance to messaging that APAV is launching its campaign today to remember that human rights “do not expire with age and that they must be maintained despite advancing age.”