By Kudzai Chinembiri
A Horsforth woman is taking action to try and raise awareness about the need to safeguard vulnerable older people, such as those with dementia.
Sally Wolfe, 71, a retired librarian in Horsforth, said: “It’s very interesting because people don’t always think of adults or old people being vulnerable.
“They are just as likely to be victims of abuse as people under the age of 18.”
The policy covers safeguarding against the abuse of children and vulnerable adults, which is very prominent as people develop illnesses such as dementia or have strokes.
Action on Elder Abuse is a UK-wide charity that aims to protect and prevent the abuse of vulnerable older people by raising awareness of the issues.
From September 2017 to September 2018, the charity’s helpline received 2,720 calls, of which 86.7% related to abuse of an older person. Over the same period the following year, 2,767 were made to the helpline, with 83.3% relating to abuse.
Chairman of Action on Elder Abuse, Dr John Beer, said: “We are working to encourage politicians to take this issue seriously, and we want to see abuse of older people become a specific offence in its own right – we believe it’s time to give older victims of crime the same protections as other groups victimised for their personal characteristics.”
“Every day, we help real people overcome terrible experiences and fight for justice.”
Action of Elder Abuse Helpline number: 080 8808 8141
More information regarding these issues can be found on this website about safeguarding adults in Leeds.
Anyone wanting to report abuse should ring this number: 0113 222 4401. Or out of hours contact 07712 106 378, or if it is an emergency, ring 999.