Elder Protection

Breaking the Silence on Elder Abuse!

Reporter Helen Heald from Q103FM talks to Ed

On Tuesday 17th April, Elder Protections Ed Mullenger visited the radio studio Q103 FM based in Histon Cambridge. Ed met with Q103's reporter Helen Heald to talk about the Mass Lobby he was attending on Wednesday 18th April at Westminster.

Ed talked about how Help the Aged had organised the mass lobby to stop the discrimination aginst the elderly and how in its election manifesto, the UK Government promised to bring in new laws to protect people from discrimination. Spring 2007 sees the Government making proposals for these laws. For a minimum of three months, we the public have the opportunity to have our say. After this consultation, the laws on discrimination in the UK will be finalised. This is a unique opportunity to ensure that the rights of older people are protected in UK law and to end inequality for older people in the UK. It will only happen if MPs hear the concerns for older people and are aware of age discrimination � so �Help the Aged� have organized a Mass Lobby to Westminster on Wednesday April 18th to lobby MPs We have a small but crucial window of time to affect legislation and achieve change. If we miss this opportunity, discrimination against people on the basis of their age will be ignored and left out. Discrimination will effectively be enshrined in law. We cannot let this happen. We need to send a strong message to the UK Government that older people will no longer stand for unfair and unequal treatment and urge MPs to act in favour of new legislation. There is no more effective way to get an MPs attention than personal contact from constituents. The more MPs are educated and lobbied by their constituents the more we will press the Government to take action. It is an outrage that older people in the UK can be refused access to basic goods and services because of their age. They go un-protected against abuse by carers and others and any crime that is investigated is not recorded to define it as elder abuse so it is difficult to get proper statistics on this older person abuse. Recent legislation on age discrimination only covered the workplace and training, leaving many older people without protection. Other forms of discrimination � such as race discrimination and sex discrimination � are already banned in the provision of goods, facilities and services, and public bodies have a duty to promote equality. We want the same for age. Just as racism and sexism make people feel bad and destroy their opportunities simply because of who they are, age discrimination has the same effect. Unequal treatment leads to isolation, depression and poor health. Treating someone differently because of their skin colour or gender, because they are disabled or because of their religion is wrong and illegal. Treating someone differently because of their age is also wrong. But in most instances it is also completely legal. Everyone deserves to be treated equally and with respect, whoever they are. There must be new legislation on age discrimination to make sure poor treatment of anyone, simply because of their age, is against the law. The UK Government says it is committed to creating a culture of zero tolerance of unequal treatment of people based on their age, race, gender or disability. It is only when decision makers hear the voices of those who regularly experience this kind of inequality and poor treatment that they will act to ban it. Does Age Discrimination really exist in the UK? Yes. It is the most commonly experienced form of discrimination in the UK and is a serious blight on older peoples lives. Our research has shown that 34% of people over 65 feel that older people are discriminated against. Help the Aged has done a great deal of research documenting different forms of age discrimination which shows that many people in the UK feel isolated, excluded or denied opportunities as they grow older. For example older people who dont receive the same medical care as everyone else suffer unnecessary pain and discomfort. If travel insurance is too expensive, they cant go on holiday, or if car insurance is refused, they are cut off and isolated from the things others take for granted. Older people often feel ignored, not consulted on the issues that affect them. I shall be asking my MP James Paice amongst other things to: 1. Support the Just Equal Treatment Campaign � to understand why we are calling for further legislation to end age discrimination against older people. 2. Write to Ruth Kelly, Department for Communities and Local Government, to ask her to bring forward a Single Equalities Bill to include legislation to ban age discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities and services and to place a duty on public bodies (e.g. local authorities) to promote age equality. 3 To put forward a parliamentary question on the need for legislation protecting older people from discrimination when accessing goods, facilities and services. 4. To bring in new legislation for protecting the elderly and vulnerable adults to the same level as child protection.

Making News with Q103FM Radio
Breaking the Silence on Elder Abuse! Reporter Helen Heald from Q103FM talks to Ed On Tuesday 17th April, Elder Protections Ed Mullenger visited the radio studio Q103 FM based in Histon Cambridge. Ed met with Q103's reporter Helen Heald to talk about the Mass Lobby he was attending on Wednesday 18th April at Westminster. Ed talked about how Help the Aged had organised the mass lobby to stop the discrimination aginst the elderly and how in its election manifesto, the UK Government promised to bring in new laws to protect people from discrimination. Spring 2007 sees the Government making proposals for these laws. For a minimum of three months, we the public have the opportunity to have our say. After this consultation, the laws on discrimination in the UK will be finalised. This is a unique opportunity to ensure that the rights of older people are protected in UK law and to end inequality for older people in the UK. It will only happen if MPs hear the concerns for older people and are aware of age discrimination � so �Help the Aged� have organized a Mass Lobby to Westminster on Wednesday April 18th to lobby MPs We have a small but crucial window of time to affect legislation and achieve change. If we miss this opportunity, discrimination against people on the basis of their age will be ignored and left out. Discrimination will effectively be enshrined in law. We cannot let this happen. We need to send a strong message to the UK Government that older people will no longer stand for unfair and unequal treatment and urge MPs to act in favour of new legislation. There is no more effective way to get an MPs attention than personal contact from constituents. The more MPs are educated and lobbied by their constituents the more we will press the Government to take action. It is an outrage that older people in the UK can be refused access to basic goods and services because of their age. They go un-protected against abuse by carers and others and any crime that is investigated is not recorded to define it as elder abuse so it is difficult to get proper statistics on this older person abuse. Recent legislation on age discrimination only covered the workplace and training, leaving many older people without protection. Other forms of discrimination � such as race discrimination and sex discrimination � are already banned in the provision of goods, facilities and services, and public bodies have a duty to promote equality. We want the same for age. Just as racism and sexism make people feel bad and destroy their opportunities simply because of who they are, age discrimination has the same effect. Unequal treatment leads to isolation, depression and poor health. Treating someone differently because of their skin colour or gender, because they are disabled or because of their religion is wrong and illegal. Treating someone differently because of their age is also wrong. But in most instances it is also completely legal. Everyone deserves to be treated equally and with respect, whoever they are. There must be new legislation on age discrimination to make sure poor treatment of anyone, simply because of their age, is against the law. The UK Government says it is committed to creating a culture of zero tolerance of unequal treatment of people based on their age, race, gender or disability. It is only when decision makers hear the voices of those who regularly experience this kind of inequality and poor treatment that they will act to ban it. Does Age Discrimination really exist in the UK? Yes. It is the most commonly experienced form of discrimination in the UK and is a serious blight on older peoples lives. Our research has shown that 34% of people over 65 feel that older people are discriminated against. Help the Aged has done a great deal of research documenting different forms of age discrimination which shows that many people in the UK feel isolated, excluded or denied opportunities as they grow older. For example older people who dont receive the same medical care as everyone else suffer unnecessary pain and discomfort. If travel insurance is too expensive, they cant go on holiday, or if car insurance is refused, they are cut off and isolated from the things others take for granted. Older people often feel ignored, not consulted on the issues that affect them. I shall be asking my MP James Paice amongst other things to: 1. Support the Just Equal Treatment Campaign � to understand why we are calling for further legislation to end age discrimination against older people. 2. Write to Ruth Kelly, Department for Communities and Local Government, to ask her to bring forward a Single Equalities Bill to include legislation to ban age discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities and services and to place a duty on public bodies (e.g. local authorities) to promote age equality. 3 To put forward a parliamentary question on the need for legislation protecting older people from discrimination when accessing goods, facilities and services. 4. To bring in new legislation for protecting the elderly and vulnerable adults to the same level as child protection.