One in six Australians aged 65 or over living in the community are abused every year. If this appeals you, help COTA Tasmania make it stop.

Register below to join a Walk Against Elder Abuse in Launceston, Burnie or Hobart.

Launceston
Burnie
Hobart

On World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, 15 June 2024 we will be on Parliament Lawns in Salamanca as part of Purple on Parliament.

Every year on World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, families, students, community members, workers and volunteers unite to raise awareness of elder abuse and the ageism that drives it.

Ageism makes it seem okay to ignore older people, and this can have terrible consequences. If older people are ignored and undervalued, it is more likely others will turn a blind eye to elder abuse.

Older people have the right to live with dignity and safety, just like people of every other age.

The walks are supported by the Tasmanian Government, and all end with a free morning tea provided by our Council partners.

For more information about elder abuse awareness and prevention, click here.

For more information about ageism, click here.

Past Walks Against Elder Abuse

The Tasmanian Community has been Walking Against Elder Abuse with COTA Tasmania since a Burnie walk in 2015. In that time, the number of walkers has swelled year on year, and progress has been made:

• new Tasmanian and national elder abuse prevention strategies were launched
• a new Statewide television, radio and print elder abuse awareness advertising campaign was funded by the Tasmanian Government
• the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety presented its scathing report
• the Tasmanian Public Trustee was reviewed
• there was an inquiry into the Roy Fagin older persons’ mental health facility
• COTA Tasmania co-hosted a national conference on elder abuse in Hobart, with more than 450 registrations.

We’ve helped achieve a lot together, but so much more needs to be done, because older Tasmanians are still being discriminated against, isolated and abused.

Walks Against Elder Abuse keep governments focussed on fixing the problem. They attract media attention that increases public awareness far beyond the walks themselves. They maintain the pressure for more effective action at all levels of society. And they spread the message that every one of us can take a step towards a safer world by stamping out ageism now.

2021 walks

In 2021, COTA Tasmania’s World Elder Abuse Awareness Day activities included walks,  a showing of the Ageing My Way exhibition in Burnie, and the second free online event in the Walk the Talk Forum Series 2021, Driving Long-Term Change: Australia’s Response to Elder Abuse.

2021 – Talk Against Elder Abuse

Due to the restrictions associated with Coronavirus (COVID-19) in 2020, we could  not walk against elder abuse so we asked people to Talk against elder abuse instead.

Annual Elder Abuse Walks are sponsored by: