Gauteng MEC of Agriculture, Rural and Social Development, Nandi Mayathula-Khoza will tomorrow Friday 15th of June 2012, commemorate the World Elder Abuse Awareness Day at the Ennerdale Civic centre. Prior to the main event 200 Older Persons will march and present a memorandum to the MEC, local Councillors and civil society representatives.
The objectives of commemorating the World Elder Abuse Awareness Day are as follows:
- To increase public awareness and knowledge about elderly abuse
- To create awareness on the rights of older persons.
- To empower older persons and the community to recognise and report elder abuse.
The event will also afford key stakeholders an opportunity to have a sense of the spread of the different types of abuse in the Gauteng Province. These include, physical; motional; neglect; financial; and sexual; among others.
It is of cardinal importance to note that in terms of Chapter 10 of the Older Persons Act, 2006 (Older Persons Act No: 13 0f 2006) all provinces, including Gauteng, are expected to collect and report data on elder abuse to the national Department of Social Development to be registered on the National Abuse Register. The purpose of collecting data on abuse is to:
- Implement chapter five of the Older persons Act as mentioned previously
- Collect statistics from provinces in order to develop programmes aimed at the prevention of elder abuse
- Develop a national register for elder abuse so as to ensure that people who have been convicted with Elder Abuse are not permitted to serve at service points for elder abuse
- Refer perpetrators to programmes aimed at rehabilitating them
- Assess the conviction rate of cases taken to courts
- Protect the rights of older persons
Next page for challenges
Despite the noble intentions of the Act challenges encountered by our province include:
- Older Persons and communities are reluctant to report abuse because they do not want to be victimised
- Some people are still not aware of the fact that elder abuse is a crime, and in some case
- There is under reporting of abuse cases.
Evidently, what is required is continues education and awareness creation about elder abuse and training on the Older Persons Act.
Details:
Date: 15 June 2012 (Friday)
Venue: Ennerdale Civic centre
Time: 10h00- 14h00
Enquiries:
Dr Sello Mokoena
Cell: 082 331 0786
E-mail: sello.mokoena@gauteng.gov.za
