Legal Aid ACT has launched a new suite of resources to support older women caught up in family violence or elder abuse.
Minister for Women, Yvette Berry said the resources offered contemporary and practical information to women, support workers and concerned family and friends to improve their safety and access to justice outcomes.
“The resources seek to improve the community’s understanding of elder abuse as a form of family violence, inform older women about their legal rights and options, and where to get help,” Ms Berry said.
“They also assist workers to understand the legal pathways in promoting the health, wellbeing and safety of older women, and provide guidance to concerned family and friends about appropriate responses.”
She said the first of the six new resources was on working with older people at risk of abuse — information for workers about promoting the safety and wellbeing of older people.
She said the second was “Decision-making and your rights” — presuming that adults had the capacity to make decisions for themselves unless proven otherwise.
Ms Berry said the third and fourth were “Plan for your safety”, which was information for older people who may be at risk of elder abuse, and “Concerned about someone?”, which was information for family and friends concerned about someone who may be experiencing elder abuse or family violence.
The Minister said the final two resources were “Gifts, loans and debts”, which sets out rights and responsibilities and what can go wrong when someone helps someone else out financially, and “Adult children at home”, which covers situations where adults return home to live with their parents or have never left home.
She said the documents were an example of the kinds of projects that were delivered through the annual Women’s Safety Grants to help make the lives of women in the ACT safer.
The new resources can be obtained by contacting the Legal Aid Office on 1300 654 314.
