by HEATHER GRANT-CAMPBELL
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A SURVEY by Carers Queensland has revealed that at least a quarter of unpaid family carers are abused by the person they care for.
As a result of the organisation’s annual Quality of Life survey, doctors, allied health professionals and homecare nurses have been urged to put carer abuse on their wellbeing radar.
“Domestic violence is, quite rightly, gaining public attention and so too is elder abuse,”
Carers Queensland president Jim Toohey told The Senior. “Carer abuse has, until now, gone unrecognised and unnoticed for perhaps the same reasons as elder abuse has been under-reported: the carers fear there’ll be repercussions for the person they care for.
“Often the carers make allowances for the abuse because the abuser has limited capacity: perhaps dementia or a mental illness. It’s not as clear cut as kids ripping off mum in a nursing home.
“We need the community, and health professionals particularly, to be alert to the risk of carer abuse."
Mr Toohey said risk situations may not be recognised by practitioners at first glance or reported by carers.
The Quality of Life survey, released in October, reported that a third of carers from a sample of 571 admitted to being emotionally abused while 15 per cent had suffered physical abuse.
“These carers are the ones speaking up about their abuse,” Mr Toohey said. “We suspect this is the tip of the iceberg, with many more either not recognising their situation as abusive or feeling too ashamed to admit to it.”
Persistent lack of sleep, money worries, housing insecurity and social isolation were identified as common triggers for the abusive behaviour.
“Unlike domestic violence cases that we often hear about, we don’t necessarily think the carer wants to move away from the person they are caring for,” Mr Toohey said. “They just want the abuse to stop.”
Deloitte’s recently put the value of informal care in Australia at $60.3 billion.
“Carers are heavy lifters in our economy but they’re voiceless: advocacy is essential to ensure they’re not left on their own,” it said in a report released in August.
- If you are a carer in an abusive situation, call the National Carers Advisory Line 1800-242-636 (Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm) or speak to your GP.
Potential signs of carer abuse:
- Person being cared for rejects outside help and support, including short breaks and respite.
- Person being cared for refuses to be left alone, day or night.
- Person being cared for is angry about their situation and seeks to punish others for it, has a history of substance misuse, or unusual or offensive behaviour.
