- Posted on 22 Mar 2023
- 48-minute read
People with dementia have been subject to significant harm, including violence, abuse, and neglect in aged care.
A new report, ‘Reparations for Harm to People Living with Dementia in Residential Aged Care’ found that people living with dementia and their families and care partners want reparations in order to achieve recognition of harm, accountability of those responsible for the harm and change to prevent the harm happening again.
Associate Professor Linda Steele, Kate Swaffer, Yumi Lee, Bill Mitchell OAM, and Theresa Flavin joined The Hon. Prof. Verity Firth AM to discuss the report findings and recommend how we can support people living with dementia obtain reparations and ultimately work towards justice and repair.
Report links
If you are interested in hearing about future events, please contact events.socialjustice@uts.edu.au
Jointly hosted by the Centre for Social Justice & Inclusion and UTS Disability Network.
Being in residential aged care in the first place is a violation of human rights when that decision is made by others without the consent of the person living with dementia. These harms have ongoing impacts causing physical and mental health to deteriorate and sometimes even causing death. Associate Professor Linda Steele
Having a voice as a person with dementia is especially hard. We don't have diverse representation yet. In the advocacy space, including in research, it's often the same voices of people with dementia and its not representative of the broader community. Kate Swaffer
Australia does not have an international convention on the rights of older persons, or a set of national human rights standards that are enforceable by people, or an Aged Care Act that is based on enforceable human rights. Bill Mitchell OAM
Financial compensation is just one part of reparations. The other parts include the settings, the practices, the ecosystem which enables the perpetration of the violation of the rights of people with dementia. All of this should be dismantled. That's when we get real reparations. Yumi Lee
We as individuals living with dementia are probably the most powerless cohort in Australia. We want an equal seat at the table but that will not be given to us. Theresa Flavin
Speakers
Dr Linda Steele is a socio-legal scholar whose research focuses on the role of law, human rights and transitional justice in the perpetration and redress of violence against disabled people. She is currently leading a program of research 'Truth Justice Repair' through which she is exploring how we reckon with and repair the harms associated with violence, institutionalisation, and segregation of disabled people.
Kate Swaffer is an independent researcher and an award-winning campaigner, international speaker, and author. Her work focuses on human rights, disability rights, and desegregation and deinstitutionalisation of people in residential care homes. She also lives with a rare form of younger onset dementia, and continues to work locally, nationally, and internationally.
Yumi Lee is a peace and human rights activist, and CEO of the Older Women’s Network NSW. Her work focuses on advocating and lobbying on issues impacting older women including housing insecurity and homelessness, and violence against older women. Recently, OWN NSW engaged in the ‘Ready to Listen’ project, aimed at raising awareness of the shocking level of sexual assaults that take place in residential aged care.
Bill Mitchell OAM is Principal Solicitor at Townsville Community Law. He has written and presented extensively on the human rights of older persons and has been involved in program service design in diverse areas including elder abuse and disaster legal response. He has been an expert contributor and presenter to national, regional, and international processes on human rights issues.
Theresa Flavin is a passionate activist and advocate for the dignity and human rights of people living with dementia. Theresa lives with younger onset dementia and has worked with leading advocacy organisations and department of health to provide them with a lived experience perspective.