{"id":235,"date":"2025-02-26T15:23:59","date_gmt":"2025-02-26T15:23:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iasquared.org\/naeji-initiative\/2023\/06\/14\/world-elder-abuse-awareness-day-building-strong-support-for-native-elders-2023\/"},"modified":"2025-11-19T18:19:37","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T18:19:37","slug":"world-elder-abuse-awareness-day-building-strong-support-for-native-elders-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iasquared.org\/naeji\/2025\/02\/26\/world-elder-abuse-awareness-day-building-strong-support-for-native-elders-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"World Elder Abuse Awareness Day: Building Strong Support for Native Elders 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"
Take One Action Today to Support WEAAD 2023 #WEAAD<\/strong><\/div>\n

The International Association for Indigenous Aging (IA\u00b2) joins elder advocates worldwide in acknowledging World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD).<\/p>\n

Bringing more than 20 years of experience advocating for the well-being of American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) elders, IA\u00b2 joins others internationally in acknowledging and advocating for the well-being and protection of the treasured knowledge keepers in our communities.<\/p>\n

WEAAD was launched on June 15, 2006, by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the World Health Organization.<\/em><\/p>\n

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World Elder Abuse Awareness Day offers an opportunity to bring awareness to elder abuse, neglect, and\u00a0exploitation in our communities. It also affords the chance to renew the call for policies, programs, and resources to help eliminate this epidemic facing tribal and other Indigenous elders.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Elder abuse comes with a tremendous physical, emotional, and financial toll. This includes the significant personal and community impacts up to and including early death for victims. In a 2019 study, Dr. Jolie Crowder found that approximately 33% of American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) older adults had experienced abuse in the past year and 24.7% had experienced emotional abuse since the age of 60. We know most cases go unreported.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople living at the intersection of dementia and abuse are the most vulnerable of our elders,\u201d said Dr. Crowder. The scant existing data indicates those elders experience abuse rates as high as nearly 80%. \u201cThe stigma and cultural taboos surrounding both dementia and abuse, as separate issues, leave both caregivers and elders hidden behind closed doors. Elders are unprotected, caregivers are exhausted, and both struggle under the weight of this diagnosis and its impact,\u201d notes Crowder.<\/p>\n

According to IA\u00b2 President and Board Chairman William F. Benson, \u201cWe recognize the exceptional challenges facing Indigenous elder populations in the U.S. and worldwide. Many of them must cope with the lack or absence of elder services, organizations that advocate for them, or the disinterest\/neglect of their government\u2019s agencies. Sadly, in far too many places around the world, Indigenous elders and their families are confronted with many horrors like war and other conflicts, starvation, and the unrelenting effects of climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n

We believe that by working together, we can tackle the horror of elder abuse. This begins by acknowledging it, particularly within family and community structures. \u201cBuilding awareness of the devastating impact of abuse is an important first step. We must also place a priority on resources and funding to prevent and address elder abuse,\u201d Benson emphasizes.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we continue to work for the well-being of AIAN elders, we remain mindful of the struggles faced by elders of other nations and geographies. Our struggle for better elder care\u2014both here in the U.S. and abroad\u2014closely aligns with international efforts to recognize and prevent elder abuse worldwide,\u201d says Dave Baldridge, IA\u00b2\u00a0Executive Director.<\/p>\n

On WEAAD 2023, the International Association for Indigenous Aging<\/a>\u00a0continues its call\u00a0for greater recognition and resources to\u00a0prevent\u00a0and address\u00a0elder abuse against American Indian, Alaska Native, and other Indigenous\u00a0elders around the globe.<\/strong><\/div>\n
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Take One Action Today to Support WEAAD 2023<\/strong><\/div>\n