Grandmother and granddaughter reading on the couch.

Shining a light on grandparents for World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

Published: 17 May 2022

This year, Seniors Rights Victoria’s (SRV) annual ‘Stir a Cuppa with Seniors’ event will highlight the critical role of seniors as grandparents, aunts, uncles and mentors in families. As part of the World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) event on June 15, SRV will also release a new brochure for grandparents.

The afternoon tea will include a panel discussion facilitated by Gerard Mansour, Commissioner for Senior Victorians and Ambassador for Elder Abuse Prevention, with guest speaker Dr Marlene Krasovitsky, Co-chair and Director of EveryAGE Counts campaign. We will examine how intergenerational relationships benefit young people, while exploring the challenges grandparents can face, such as estrangement from grandchildren; pressure to provide financial or other support; issues related to informal caregiving; and concern for the safety of grandchildren in family violence situations.

SRV can help grandparents to think through their options for resolving challenges like these, and can refer grandparents to other services that can help to protect grandchildren when family violence occurs.

SRV’s ‘Stir a Cuppa with Seniors’ event will be held on 15 June at the City of Melbourne Bowls Club in the Flagstaff Gardens, Melbourne. To register for the event, please telephone 9655 2129 or visit bit.ly/StiraCuppaRegistrations close at 3 pm Friday 10 June.

To seek advice or support contact SRV Helpline on 1300 368 821 or go to seniorsrights.org.au.