The objectives of this workshop are to:
5 minutes Registration (Start – Welcome & Opening remarks)
5 minutes Introductions & Group Activity (Activity: Facilitator to devise an ice-breaker activity)
15 minutes Highlights of findings from the African Australian Seniors Ageing project and where to access information
Activity: Participants to discuss what they have learned from the findings
15 minutes Understanding culture in Australia “as a multi-cultural society”
Activity: Participants consider the different cultures represented within our society with a focus on caring for the elderly, particularly within the African context
10 minutes Break/refreshments
30 minutes What is the difference between racism and discrimination? What is elder abuse?
Activity: Participants to explore their experiences with racism, discrimination, and elder abuse. How can they address these as individuals and members of their community? Focus on African Australian seniors’ issues of quality care that can be free from racism.
25 minutes Guest Speaker: What can be done to combat racism experienced by African Australian seniors in aged care? Looking at the current reporting structures
5 minutes Closing remarks
I do not think my children can support me due to the environment that we live in, and they cannot manage to take care of me. They have their own work and lives to attend to.. All my children have their own families and are working. They could not assist me, only my husband helped me.
Abuse of seniors by their children is also a serious issue
Questions like "where did you come from?" - if you say, "I am Australian", they ask, "where is your country of origin?" - these are the questions we often get (Loro, An African Australian senior) If I change my name from Hussain to Will Smith, I am sure I will get a job, (Hussain, An African Australia senior).
This racism is being experienced by African Australian seniors who have worked as aged care workers and may come either from aged care residents or managers. This is a predominant issue in the aged care sector that is often overlooked.
I have experienced racism as an aged care worker and obviously, as an African, I will continue to experience it when I go to an aged care home. I worked for this organisation…. I do not want to mention names…. where there were African clients, one day I saw a young man who was suicidal, I took it upon myself to take him to an elder for counselling. However, I was advised not to bother because it was after hours. As an African, I drove him in my own car and took him to the elder for counselling. Because he has lost his mother and the father figure did not understand him very well, he was confused. Counselling saved him, but I was put under disciplinary action for 3 months without pay. I was interrogated and collapsed due to stress. Eventually, I resigned from there and started my own community service, which is thriving today. All I can say is if you face racism when you are not very old to go to the aged care home, how about when you become very old? In this situation, your looks change, and you face more racism. When I resigned from that facility, they lost funding.
Participant Fathia explained that:
With regards to the treatment being given to African seniors already in aged care homes, participant Fathia revealed that:
My bosses denied me the opportunity to progress. At one stage, I was told my African culture influences the way I communicate with my students as "I am autocratic". My response was to take the matter to the Equal Opportunity Commission, and I was compensated.
‘I experienced racism in public transport, I wanted to challenge them but didn't have good English’, ‘as an African, I faced a different type of racism, but I knew the reason was the English language. After I took some English courses, things became better’, ‘being maligned because of accent’, ‘being told I don't belong here’, and ‘Go back to where you came from - I ignore and walk away’.
The establishment of culturally appropriate residential age care homes: The participants suggested that mainstream aged care homes are not conducive to their well-being. Therefore, there might be a need for stakeholders to support the establishment of culturally appropriate homes for African-Australian seniors. They noted that some migrant groups who have been in Australia for a long time, such as Greeks, Italians, and Chinese communities, have community-based homes tailored to support them in a culturally sensitive and appropriate way. Such a model can be instituted for African Australian seniors as well.
The effective implementation of anti-racism policies: Racism or discrimination
was seen to be a major challenge. As a result, there is a need to make anti-racism
policies and ensure they are implemented to make everyone feel like belonging in
Australia.
Community/ family
Bridging cultural/generational divide: There is a need for a cultural program in place to repair the relationships between parents and their children. We recommend that to overcome breakdown in family and community support there is the need for cultural education that has the potential to instil the value of children caring for their parents earlier on.
Social community club: The establishment of a community hub where African Australian seniors can meet to socialise and connect with people with similar cultures. This will help overcome some disconnections from the family.
As someone who receives aged care and services, I have the right to:
Safe and high-quality care and services
Be treated with dignity and respect
Have my identity, culture, and diversity valued and supported
Live without abuse and neglect
Be informed about my care and services in a way I understand
Access all information about myself, including information about my rights, care, and services
Have control over and make choices about my care, and personal and social life, including where the choices involve personal risk
Have control over, and make decisions about, the personal aspects of my daily life, financial affairs, and possessions
My independence
Be listened to and understood
Have a person of my choice, including an aged care advocate, support me or speak on my behalf
Complain free from reprisal, and to have my complaints dealt with fairly and promptly
Personal privacy and to have my personal information protected
Exercise my rights without it adversely affecting the way I am treated
https://www.agedcarequality.gov.au/consumers/consumer-rights
Carer Gateway: provides in-person, phone and online services and support to unpaid Australian carers. Services Available: Coaching, Counselling (in-person and phone); Emergency and Planned respite care; Connection with other carers (in-person and online); Online skills courses; Tailored support packages. Phone number: 18000422737 Monday to Friday: Website: https://www.carergateway.gov.au
Carers Victoria: a peak body representing Victorian unpaid carers; Works with government and other organisations, service providers and private organisationns to improve supports for carers; Connects carers with other carers. Conducts education sessions support carers and service providers to empower them in their caring role. Phone number: 1800 514 845; Email: reception@carersvictoria.org.au; Website: https://www.carersvictoria.org.au
MiCare: Services: Residential home care, Retirement Living Migrant Services, and Migardening, Social Support Groups and MiMeals. Phone number: 1800 642 243; M: 04 9169 3862 P: (03) 7001 2512 E: Sarah.Chong@micare.com.au
Department of Social Services: Supports informal and family carers of senior Australians, particularly for those caring for people living with dementia. Websites: https://www.dss.gov.au/disability-and-carers/carers; https://www.dss.gov.au/seniors
My Aged Care: Offer information about help around the house, and aged care homes. You get to learn about different types of care; Get assessed for aged care services (eligibility); Finding a service provider in your area that suits your needs; and managing your services. Website: https://www.myagedcare.gov.au/
The Connecting Older Australians to Aged Care Services program provides free translation for
aged care providers, which is run by the Department of Health (DoH); The service is
available to all Australian Government-subsidised aged care providers, peak bodies and
Partners in Culturally Appropriate Care (PICACS)
Website for a translation request is: https://diversityagedcare.health.gov.au/
Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN): Offers free, independent and confidential support and information to older people. Assists and support older people, their families, and representatives to connect with aged care services that meet an older person’s individual needs either in their own home or an aged care home; See Website for other services: https://opan.org.au/information/accessing-aged-care#section2
Compass: Reporting and finding information on elder abuse, including various service providers by state: Website: https://www.compass.info/service-providers/?states=vic
Reporting racism: Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission https://www.humanrights.vic.gov.au/get-help/community-reporting-tool/
‘Multicultural’ describes the cultural diversity of present-day Australia Australia is regarded as a multicultural society.
“Multiculturalism is the doctrine that several different cultures (rather than one national culture) can coexist peacefully and equitably in a single country” (Vanessa Locke, Dina Danias, Katie Glynn and Jacqueline Rogers).
The Federal Government has a multicultural policy that focuses on the following three dimensions: Cultural Identity, social justice and economic efficiency.
Cultural Identity: all Australians, have the right to express and share their individual cultural heritage, including their language and religion
Social Justice: all Australians have the right to equality of treatment and opportunity, and the removal of barriers of race, ethnicity, culture, religion, language, gender, or place of birth;
Economic Efficiency: the need to maintain, develop, and utilize effectively the skills and talents of all Australians, regardless of background. (Vanessa Locke, Dina Danias, Katie Glynn and Jacqueline Rogers).
Breakout groups:
How do you understand culture? Consider the different cultures represented within our society.
What are the cultural needs when caring for the African Australian elderly?
Focus on the needs of both the carers and African-Australian elders
“Discrimination refers to the differential treatment of the members of different ethnic, religious, national, or other groups”.
It is prejudice that “involves negative, hostile, and injurious treatment of members of rejected groups” (https://www.apa.org/topics/racism-bias-discrimination).
Racial discrimination is “When a person is treated less favourably than another person in a similar situation because of their race, colour, descent, national or ethnic origin or immigrant status”. (https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/race-discrimination/what-racism)
“The process by which systems and policies, actions and attitudes create inequitable opportunities and outcomes for people based on race”.
Racism happens when prejudice – whether individual or institutional – is accompanied by the power to discriminate against, oppress, or limit the rights of others.
Example: Due to the belief that COVID-19 originated in China, Asian and Asian-Australians were subjected to racism. https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/race-discrimination/what-racism
“A form of prejudice that assumes that the members of racial categories have distinctive characteristics and that these differences result in some racial groups being inferior to others”. https://www.apa.org/topics/racism-bias-discrimination
Refusing renting a car rental to an 85-year-old woman because the company’s insurer would not insure a driver over the age of 80.
An over 65 years refused a job because it would be hard for her to learn
Indirect age discrimination is when a requirement, condition, or practice that is the same for everyone has an unfair effect on someone of a particular age and is unreasonable in the circumstances.
If a person of a different age is admitted to the hospital for treatment of COVID-19, but an older person, whether living in aged care or elsewhere, is not admitted, then it is very likely age discrimination has occurred unless a good reason for the refusal is shown that is allowed by the law https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/covid-19-age-discrimination-and-aged-care
What are your personal experiences with racism, discrimination, in particular, age discrimination?
How can you address these as individuals and members of your community? Focus on African Australian seniors’ issues of quality care that can be free from racism.
Acts of sexual harassment include:
According to The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety
How can you address these as individuals and members of your community? Focus on African Australian seniors’ issues of quality care that can be free from racism.
Aged Care Royal Commission Report: Summary, (2021). https://agedcare.royalcommission.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-03/final-report-executive-summary.pdf
Aged Care and Safety Commission. Charter of Aged Care Rights. Charter of Aged Care Rights | Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission Viewed 20 October 2023.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2016, April 20). In focus: persons aged 55 years and over. ABS. https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/focus-persons-aged-55-years-and-over
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2017). Personal Safety, Australia 2016. Canberra: ABS. Viewed 24 November 2023. https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/crime-and-justice/personal-safety-australia/latest-release
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2023) Older Australians. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/older-people/older-australians/contents/justice-and-safety#Discrimination%20against%20older%20people
Australian Human Rights Commission. https://humanrights.gov.au/elderabuse Viewed 24 November 2023.
Attorney General Department (2023). Protecting the rights of older Australians: https://www.ag.gov.au/rights-and-protections/protecting-rights-older-australians. Viewed 24 November 2023.
Equal Opportunity Commission (2020), Equal Opportunity Commission Fact Sheet - Age discrimination. https://www.wa.gov.au/organisation/equal-opportunity-commission Viewed 24 November 2023.
Joosten, M., Vrantsidis, F., Dow, B. (2017). Understanding Elder Abuse: A Scoping Study, Melbourne: University of Melbourne and the National Ageing Research Institute. https://socialequity.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/2777924/Elder-Abuse-A-Scoping-Study.pdf. Viewed 24 November 2023.
Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, Aged Care and COVID-19: A Special Report, 2020, https://agedcare.royalcommission.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-12/aged-care-and-covid-19-a-special-report.pdf (viewed, 20 June 2023).
Tarczon C and Quadara A 2012. The nature and extent of sexual assault and abuse in Australia (ACSSA Resource Sheets). Melbourne: Australian Centre for the Study of Sexual Assault, Australian Institute of Family Studies. Viewed 2021.
WHO (World Health Organization) 2020. Elder abuse. Geneva: WHO. Viewed 20 June 2023.