New U.N. treaty will strengthen rights of older people
Under international law and policy, older persons’ rights are largely invisible as there’s no document placing a legal or moral obligation on a country to protect their rights in the community, the workplace or at home. Wotton Kearney partnered with the Australian Human Rights Commission, supporting the work of Australia’s Age Discrimination Commissioner on protecting the rights of older persons’.
Robert Fitzgerald AM,
Age Discrimination Commissioner,
Australian Human Rights Commission
Simran Gowan,
Solicitor,
Wotton Kearney
[seconded to the Australian Human Rights Commission Age Discrimination team in 2024]
The abuse of older people is a global issue. The World Health Organization refers to the abuse of older people as a “public health problem” that is only set to increase as the global ageing populations grows, with an estimate that in 2050, there will be approximately 320 million victims of elder abuse worldwide.¹
However, under international law and policy, older persons’ rights are largely invisible and unrecognised as there is no document that places a legal or moral obligation on a country to protect older persons’ rights in the community, the workplace or at home.
Australia is no exception. Just as the pandemic was kicking off in 2020, approximately one in six older Australians reported to have experienced some form of elder abuse². Decisions in those days about prioritising younger COVID patients over older ones for access to limited emergency care and respirators made the absence of older people’s rights even more stark.
Alarmingly, rapid growth in Australia’s ageing population means that the number of cases of elder abuse will only grow, with older persons projected to make up 19.2% of Australia’s population by 2055.³
While a concerted effort has been made by the Australian Government to prevent and respond to ageism and elder abuse, most recently via consultation at the end of 2024 on a new National Plan to End the Abuse and Mistreatment of Older People 2024 – 2034, progress has been hindered by a lack of understanding of the need for protection of the human rights of older people.
Wotton Kearney⁴ has partnered with the Australian Human Rights Commission, supporting the work of Australia’s Age Discrimination Commissioner who has publicly called for a Convention on the Rights of Older People to raise awareness of the need for this protection.
Who perpetrates elder abuse
Elder abuse can take many forms, from physical abuse to neglect, but the most common perpetrators of abuse are adult children of the older victim-survivor.⁵ In fact, data reveals that the most prevalent group of perpetrators overall, are family members of the victim-survivor including partners and spouses, children, grandchild and siblings.
With about 40% of older people in Australia living in households and requiring assistance with at least one personal or everyday activity,⁶ these older people can become reliant on family members to provide for their basic needs. A carer who leverages that dynamic to control the older persons’ activities, finances and access to daily needs, engages in a form of elder abuse also known as coercive control – a term more commonly understood in the context of intimate partner violence.
One of the most common types of abuse inflicted by family members on older people tends to be financial abuse.⁷ Rising house prices and higher cost of living in Australia has increased the vulnerability of retirees and soon-to-be retirees to the risk of inheritance impatience – a family member’s sense of entitlement to an older person’s assets.
This is especially the case when the older person lives with the family member. Inheritance impatience may lead to the older person feeling pressured into giving or loaning their money and other assets to their family. In other cases, the family member will forcibly steal money and other assets or steal by way of committing fraud.
“Older people deserve to have confidence their rights and protections are safeguarded by their government. While Australia has begun its journey towards eliminating elder abuse, the lack of international protection for older peoples’ rights remains a gap in the human rights framework.”
Barriers to responding to abuse
Unfortunately, understanding the true prevalence of elder abuse and developing corresponding strategies for prevention is limited by social, cultural and institutional barriers. Compelling data on these barriers in Australia comes from a 2022 report, commissioned by the Western Australian Department of Communities titled ‘Everyone’s Business: Research into responses to the abuse of older people (elder abuse) in Western Australia.’⁸ The report identified the following barriers to preventing and responding to abuse:
- Individual level
– Older person’s fear of reporting abuse (67.6% of respondents)
– Perpetrator concealment (27.4% of respondents) - Institutional level
– Limited support to navigate complex matters (55.2% of respondents)
– Intersections between responses to family violence and the abuse of older people (47.9%)
– Lack of training and support for professions (approx. 38% of respondents)
– Lack of communication between available services (22.2%) - Societal level
– Lack of public awareness about abuse of older people (42.7% of respondents)
Many survey respondents revealed that they fear the consequences for themselves as well as for their abuser if they were to report what was happening. Repercussions like needing to leave home and entering an aged care facility could lead to increased isolation, risking further abuse.
These fears are universal issues arising from family relationships with unbalanced power dynamics between the older person and their abuser. A report from Hong Kong revealed how victim-survivors may value family relationships more than their own safety, especially if they depend on the abuser for their daily needs and requirements.⁹
Another reason, particularly prevalent in culturally diverse communities, is the need to maintain traditional values of reputation. This can lead victims to conceal abuse as it may be perceived as something ‘shameful’ or ‘embarrassing’.
A new United Nations treaty will strengthen older persons’ rights
On April 3, 2025, following years of strong community advocacy, the United Nations Human Rights Council came to a landmark resolution to begin the process of drafting an international human rights treaty on the rights of older people (Treaty). The resolution establishes a working group, which allows any UN member countries to join, to contribute to drafting the Treaty. They are scheduled to meet before the end of 2025.
Prior to this development, there was no resolution within the UN to develop an international legal framework specific to the rights of older people. While the Universal Declaration of Human Rights applies to all people regardless of age, it does not recognise the specific right of older people to be free from aged-based discrimination. This creates a gap where situations unique to an older person are not appropriately considered by law and policy.
The absence of proper protections of older persons’ human rights in domestic law and polices is a form of age-based discrimination.
Introducing a dedicated UN Treaty on the rights of older persons would require countries that are parties to the Treaty to create a legal and human-rights based framework that ensures older people can understand and enforce their rights. Some of these rights include:
- Older people’s right to freedom from violence
- Older people’s right to health
- Older people’s right to consent and bodily autonomy
- Older people’s right to work
Not only would a treaty hold governments responsible for making sure that the rights of older people are protected, but it could also lead to better regulations on how organisations provide services to older persons.
For example, in Australia, there currently is no uniform approach for service providers on reporting elder abuse. Stakeholders argue that the absence of a national reporting framework has led to inconsistencies in how elder abuse is defined and inadequate training for workers in recognising elder abuse, ultimately leading to under-reporting.¹⁰
A treaty would create international definitions and standards to guide governments and service providers in identifying elder abuse.
Older people deserve to have confidence that their rights and protections are safeguarded by their government. While Australia has begun its journey towards eliminating elder abuse, the lack of international protection for older peoples’ rights remains a gap in the human rights framework. The introduction of a Treaty on the rights of older persons would strengthen the rights of older people in Australia and around the world and can’t come too soon.
- World Health Organization, Abuse of Older People (Factsheet, 15 June 2024) <https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/abuse-of-older-people>.
- Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Family Domestic and Sexual Violence – Older People (online, last updated 28 February 205).
- Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Older Australians (online, last updated 2 July 2024).
- Wotton Kearney is Asia Pacific’s insurance & risk legal business. With a unique team, WK partners with forward thinking insurers and corporates to solve their greatest challenges. More than just a law firm, we’re a community of big thinkers, trail blazers and impactful humans that’s committed to making a difference. Together, with our clients, our people and our communities, we’re creating a legacy that redefines the world of insurance and risk. Together, we are greater.
- Australian Institute of Family Studies, National Elder Abuse Prevalence Study: final report (online, December 2021).
- HopgoodGanim Lawyers, Elder Abuse and Coercive Control in Australia (Report, February 2023).
- Australian Institute of Family Studies, National Elder Abuse Prevalence Study: final report (December 2021).
- Stevens, Catriona et al. Everyone’s Business: Research into response to the abuse of older people (elder abuse) in Western Australia (2022).
- Yan et al, ‘Resilience as a protective factor against elder abuse by family caregivers: findings from a cross-sectional study in Hong Kong’ (2022) 24(5/6) The Journal of Adult Protection.
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights; GA Res 217A (III), UN GAOR, UN Doc A/810 (10 December 1948).