Report shows research lacking on ageism and ableism
A new policy report by the the Fred Hollows Foundation and Christian Blind Mission Australia has revealed systemic gaps in policies and programs for older people with disabilities.
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, one in six Australians are over 65 years old and the number is expected to increase. Meanwhile the Australian Bureau of Statistics lists 52.3 per cent of older Australians as having disability, with 86.6 per cent having one or more long term health conditions, according to the latest summary of findings.
This intersection often sees individuals experience bias of both ageism and ableism, and can prevent them from receiving adequate care or being included in decision-making and social participation.
The Intersection of Ageism and Ableism in Development and Humanitarian Policy and Practice policy report by the Fred Hollows Foundation and Christian Blind Mission Australia has revealed systemic gaps in policies and programs for older people with disabilities across the Indo-Pacific region.
These gaps stem from the incorrect and harmful assumption that disability comes with ageing, rendering the population “invisible,” explained Dr Vânia de la Fuente-Núñez, who has been leading this work at the Fred Hollows Foundation.
“This population group is consistently under-represented in decision-making processes. As a result, their unique needs are frequently overlooked in development and humanitarian programs, including access to assistive technologies or specialised services for individuals with cognitive decline,” she said.
The methodology for the report included data mapping of sources across Bangladesh, Cambodia, Fiji, Indonesia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu.
Despite not including Australia, Aged and Disability Advocacy Australia chief executive officer Geoff Rowe told Community Care Review that similar attitudes are prevalent in this country and that he was not particularly surprised by the findings.
However he is concerned about the lack of research on the intersection of the two biases, particularly in the Australian context.
“If you look at both sectors independently – disability and ageing – there really isn’t comprehensive research,” he said. “There is research, but when you throw the two together you are really falling into that no person’s land.“
He said ageism and ableism in Australia could be seen to stem from the dual welfare system Australia used to have, whereby the Commonwealth took care of older Australians and the state would take care of those with a disability under 65. This changed with the introduction of the National Disablity Insurance Scheme and has left many older Australians impacted by a disability ineligible.
“Leadership around that dual category, it isn’t there and we’ve seen that in recent times when there’s been a strong lobby from the post-polio cohort who are ageing and whose disabilities are arising from that polio infection that happened 50, 60 years ago. It’s now coming out in their older age and they certainly have tried to get some traction with the NDIS to gain eligibility and that’s just failed.
“If I’m really blunt, there’s not a lot of interest in what happens to older people. There’s not a lot of interest about what happens to people with a disability. Put the two cohorts together and we miss the mark. We miss the opportunity.”
Despite the lack of research, awareness and action on ageism and ableism, Mr Rowe believes change is on the horizon, with the baby boomers being a vocal generation who will lobby for change.
“When we look at the cohort of people using [aged care services], or even if we just look at older Australians, they’ve often been described as the grateful generation, the generation that’s grown up through the Depression, through the Second World War, and they don’t complain, you know, they see it as their lot…the optimist in me is saying that the baby boomer generation is starting to become active users of services for older people. We’ve never described the baby boomers as grateful; they’re a cohort that when they’ve seen something that they don’t like, they’ve demanded change,” he told CCR.
“While our parents might have accepted this is their lot, I think we are going to see changes within that response to the older cohort that reflects perhaps a more balanced response rather than ‘let’s just ignore them because they won’t complain’… they will complain.”
The report indicates the need for more targeted data collection and research tools to tackle ageism and ableism. It also recommends governments, older people’s associations, organisations of persons with disabilities and humanitarian and development sectors develop inclusive policies and advocacy, respond to violence against older women, conduct research on the timing of disability onset and ensure there is adequate implementation of inclusive legal framework.
The Fred Hollows Foundation and CBM Australia are also calling for better access to assistive technologies, which includes visual aids such as magnifiers, screen readers, and other devices that support individuals with low vision or blindness.
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