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FORUM OF THE AFRICAN AUSTRALIAN SENIORS ANTI-RACISM PROJECT

Stakeholder Education/Awareness


WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES:

The objectives of this workshop are to:

  1. Present findings from the African Australian Seniors Ageing Project.
  2. Discuss what diversity constitutes with a focus on aging and aged care.
  3. Define racism, discrimination, and elder abuse.
  4. Explore how racism, discrimination, and elder abuse can impact both individuals and communities.
  5. Suggest what can be done to combat racism, discrimination, and elder abuse experienced by African Australian seniors in aged care, with a focus on the current reporting structures.

WORKSHOP OUTLINE:

  • 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

FINDINGS OF THE AFRICAN AUSTRALIAN AGEING PROJECT

  • Survey of 48 participants (40 men and 8 women – Majority from the Horn of Africa.)

  • FGD 1 – women from Springvale

    Somalia (8), South Sudan (9), Malawi (3), Uganda (2), and 1 China (but identify as African through marriage). Total - 23

  • FGD 2 – men and women from Dandenong

    1 Burundi; 1 Somalia; 1 South Sudan; 2 Uganda, 2 Malawi, Total – 7.

  • Total – 30 participants

  • Theme 1: ‘Positive experiences of ageing in Australia’

  • Theme 2: ‘Challenges of ageing in Australia’

  • Theme 3: ‘Personal experiences of racism in Australia’

  • Theme 4: ‘Ageing and COVID-19 experiences’

  • Theme 5: Groups, service providers and their functions

Intergenerational/cultural conflict, discipline, and Fear of unmet expectations

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

Culture, Language, Separation from community/family and economic difficulties

  • Those who can neither speak or write in English find it hard to deal with institutions
  • Men fear of losing families as a result of the divorce system being easy in Australia. They attributed broken homes to the system, making divorce easy in Australia. They compared this to their home countries and asserted that it was difficult to divorce, and couples found ways to work together to iron out their differences rather quickly rushing to divorce.
  • Those who came as refugees lost family members during wars, hence are lonely
  • Hard to retire even when they reach retirement age, super contributions low for those who arrived already old; hard to find a job because of age discrimination

Personal experiences of racism

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.

Racism at work/job related

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:

  • they are given menial jobs like cleaning up if someone has soiled badly. They are called black monkeys, even the white residents ask them not to touch them because they are black. In response to this…it will not be different if we stay at aged care homes. The racism that we experience as workers, we will still experience in nursing homes.

With regards to the treatment being given to African seniors already in aged care homes, participant Fathia revealed that:

  • I cared for a Sudanese elderly man at an aged care home at Noble Park. The workers there did not care about feeding him. Because I am African, and he was African, I fed him. One Indian worker did not want to feed him, mainly because he was African. So, really, I do not want to go to any other aged care home and faced this kind of racism.

Personal experiences of racism – “I called it out and demanded justice” “I ignore and walk away”

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’.

Recommendations - Government and other stakeholders

  1. 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.

  2. 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

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

Charter of Aged Care Rights

As someone who receives aged care and services, I have the right to:

  1. Safe and high-quality care and services

  2. Be treated with dignity and respect

  3. Have my identity, culture, and diversity valued and supported

  4. Live without abuse and neglect

  5. Be informed about my care and services in a way I understand

  6. Access all information about myself, including information about my rights, care, and services

  7. Have control over and make choices about my care, and personal and social life, including where the choices involve personal risk

  8. Have control over, and make decisions about, the personal aspects of my daily life, financial affairs, and possessions

  9. My independence

  10. Be listened to and understood

  11. Have a person of my choice, including an aged care advocate, support me or speak on my behalf

  12. Complain free from reprisal, and to have my complaints dealt with fairly and promptly

  13. Personal privacy and to have my personal information protected

  14. Exercise my rights without it adversely affecting the way I am treated
    https://www.agedcarequality.gov.au/consumers/consumer-rights

The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety (2021), which was established to investigate the quality and safety of our elderly in the aged care system (KPMG, 2023), noted that, in 2019-2020, in line with the Aged Care Act 1997 (Cth), on mandatory reporting, there were 5,700 allegations of elderly abuse that were reported.
Furthermore, 27,000 to 39,000 assaults that were exempt from mandatory reporting were noted. However, the number of African Australian seniors included in these stated figures is not known.

WHERE TO ACCESS INFORMATION

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/

CULTURE, RACISM, DISCRIMINATION, ELDER ABUSE

Understanding culture in Australia “as a multi-cultural society”

‘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).

  • According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2020) 16.2% (4.2 million) of the Australian population was aged 65 and over in 2020.
  • Culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) older people (including African Australian seniors) have made and continue to make invaluable contributions to the Australian society
  • As the size of this community grows, it will be crucial to identify strategies to support them in their ageing journey.

Statistics of African seniors with a Broader multi-cultural Australia

  • The 2021 census data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed that the population of Australia was 25.65 million and those who lived in Victoria were 6,503,491.
  • Only 0.36% (23,268 people) of Victoria’s population were born in an African country (ABS, 2021).
  • The top four numbers of the African-born population of seniors in Victoria were:

    • South Africa (9,649). These comprised 4,471 in the age range of 55-64 years; 65-79 (4,182), and those over 80 years old totaled 989.
    • Mauritius 5,601. The majority were those within the age range of 65-79 (2,464); followed by those within 55-64 years (2,367), and the over 80 years old were 765 people.
    • Ethiopia, (1,129), 856 within a range of 55-64 years old; 223 within the range of 65-79 years; and only 41 over 80 years old.
    • Zimbabwe, (1,150) seniors. The majority were from the age range of 55-64 years (692), 407 were from the age range of between 65 and 79 years old and 53 seniors were over

Activity

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

RACISM AND DISCRIMINATION

Discrimination and Racial discrimination

“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)

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

AGE DISCRIMINATION

  • It is unlawful to discriminate against a person because of their age.

  • This is prohibited under the Age Discrimination Act 2004, whether a person is young or old.

  • The Act protects older Australians from discrimination in other areas of public life, including education; getting or using services; or renting or buying a house or unit.

  • Discrimination can make participating in activities difficult for people, including older Australians (aged 65 and over). Age discrimination refers to treating a person less favourably, or not giving them the same opportunities as others, due to judgments about their age (AHRC 2014)

  • This can be either direct or indirect discrimination

DIRECT AGE DISTRIMINATION

Examples:

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

Breakout groups:

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.

ELDER ABUSE

  • Elder abuse is a ‘single, or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust which causes harm or distress to an older person’ (WHO 2020).

  • It includes various forms such as physical, psychological, financial, and sexual abuse, as well as neglect.

  • It has occurred in both formal and informal relationships, and it can involve close, loved, and trusted family members.

  • Evidence on elder abuse occurring outside of a familial context (e.g., in care settings) is particularly sparse (https://aifs.gov.au/research/family-matters/no-98/elder-abuse).

  • The risk factors have been cited by Joosten et al. 2017; WHO 2020 to include:

    • Isolation
    • Functional dependency and disability
    • Poor physical and mental health
    • Changes in living arrangements
    • Financial pressures on or from children
    • Mistreatment by adult children
    • Ageist attitudes within the community
  • Review the video: https://youtu.be/H4FFmSbPOTo

  • This can include financial abuse, sexual assault and substandard care in residential care services.


FINANCIAL ELDER ABUSE

  • This entails the misuse or theft of a person’s assets or money.

  • For older people, it usually includes behaviours such as:

    • Using their finances without their permission
    • Power of attorney privileges outside their intended purposes
    • Withholding care for financial gain, or selling and transferring property against their wishes (CAG 2020)
  • The ABS notes that of the 3.4 million Australians aged over 55, who were exposed to a scam, 4% (122,900), responded to at least one scam, either by supplying personal information, money, or both, or by seeking more information in relation to the request. 

  • Australians aged 55 and over were more likely than those aged under 55 to report their most serious scam incident to an authority (43% and 33% respectively).

Experience of selected scams in the last 12 months, victimisation rates(a) by age

SEXUAL ELDER ABUSE

  • Sexual assault is “any act of a sexual nature carried out against a person’s will using physical force, intimidation or coercion”. (ABS 2017; Tarczon and Quadara 2012).

  • It can include a broad range of behaviours such as: sexual harassment and sexualised bullying

Acts of sexual harassment include:

  • Indecent phone calls, text, emails or posts (internet social networking sites or mail)

  • Indecent exposure

  • Inappropriate comments

  • Unwanted touching, grabbing, kissing, or fondling

  • Distribution or posting of pictures or videos without consent, that are sexual in nature

  • Exposure to pictures, videos, or materials that are sexual in nature (ABS 2017; AIHW 2019b)

SUBSTANDARD CARE IN RESIDENTIAL AGED CARE SERVICES ELDER ABUSE

  • This affects people living in residential aged care

  • It can involve deliberate acts of harm and forms of abuse - including physical and sexual violence.

  • Examples are: restrictive practices, such as restraining people to their bed or administering medication with the intent to manage people’s behaviour (RCACQS 2021).

    • It can include a broad range of behaviors such as: sexual harassment and sexualised bullying

According to The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety

  • In 2019–20, around 5,700 allegations of assault were made through mandatory reporting under the Aged Care Act 1997. A further 27,000 to 39,000 alleged assaults were reported that were exempt from mandatory reporting, as they were resident-on-resident incidents.

  • Across Australia, residential aged care services made around 24,700 reports of intent to restrain and 62,800 reports of physical restraint devices, in the last quarter of 2019–20 (RCACQS 2021)

ACTIVITY

  • What are your personal experiences with elder financial abuse?

  • What are your personal experiences with elder sexual abuse?

  • What are your personal experiences with elder substandard care abuse?

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.

GUEST SPEAKER

REFERENCES

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.