KEY POINTS:
The Families Commission is concerned by a new study which shows that family, not paid caregivers, are most likely to neglect the elderly.
The Age Concern study showed that family members were most commonly responsible for the neglect, using a range of deliberate and passive acts from failing to provide enough food through to misuse of the elderly person's assets or money.
The study, of 137 elderly people, has been released to coincide with World Elder Abuse Awareness Day today.
Families Commission chief commissioner Rajen Prasad said that neglect of the elderly was a form of family violence and could not be tolerated.
"It is very disturbing to see in this report that some family members are starving their elderly relatives, selling their homes out from under them, or are simply unable to cope with the level of care that is needed."
A national campaign led by the Families Commission and the Ministry of Social Development to change attitudes and behaviours toward family violence is due to be launched soon.
The campaign will run over several years and will include a focus on elder abuse and neglect.
"This form of family violence is being increasingly recognised as a problem in New Zealand affecting an estimated 3-10 per cent of elderly people," Dr Prasad said.
- NZPA
