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Description
The aim of the project is to provide information on violence against the elderly, its specifics, forms and ways of responding to it to the elderly, their relatives, the public and specialists in the field of domestic violence prevention. The scale of violence against the elderly is large and awareness of the problem in the society is very low, which makes it difficult to reach the victims of violence. The reasons why older people hide they are abused are financial and emotional dependence on younger family members and fear that their life situation will get worse. The poor psycho-physical condition, isolation and low mobility of older people are also of great importance. We address the project to the staff of the local domestic violence prevention system, including medical workers. The project is in line with the priority objectives of the Programme for Counteracting Family Violence in the Podlaskie Province. People working for the system of counteracting family violence in the Podlaskie Province have repeatedly reported to us the need for specialised training on this topic. In addition, socio-economic analysis of Podlaskie Province shows that the biggest challenges of the region are rapid ageing of the population, professional inactivity of people of working age, frequent migration, high unemployment and risk of poverty. According to a study by the Polish Academy of Sciences (2015), there is a strong correlation between income and education levels and consent to violence. As part of the project, we provide training for professionals in the field of domestic violence prevention and educational workshops for older people. We develop educational materials, run a public awareness campaign and provide a duty counselling on domestic violence prevention.
Summary of project results
The project "Violence against the elderly. Don''t be a passive spectator." was a continuation of the foundation''s activities in the area of counteracting elder abuse in local communities, in this case - in the Podlaskie Voivodeship.
According to PolSenior research from 2012, the scale of violence against elders in the Podlaskie Voivodeship was the highest in Poland. This was accompanied by a low level of awareness and knowledge of what violence is and how to help abused people, which made it much more difficult to reach those who experience it.
The aim of the project was to provide information on elder abuse, its specificity, forms and the need to respond to older people, their surroundings, the public and specialists in the field of counteracting domestic violence, as well as to provide information, help and support to elderly victims of abuse.
These goals were achieved through training with supervision for specialists, educational workshops, a local social campaign and the duty of a specialist for counteracting domestic violence. These activities were accompanied by intensive PR activities, the aim of which was to disseminate in the local media the importance of violence against the elderly and the need to respond and, above all, the possibility of obtaining help and support.
The project was highly appreciated by the participating specialists, elderly people and representatives of local institutions and organizations.
Thanks to it, the foundation''s representatives have also established new relationships and partnerships, which will certainly result in the foundation''s cooperation with local institutions and organizations in the Podlaskie Voivodeship in the future.
442 specialists took part in supervised training and 496 older people took part in educational workshops on violence.
Our activities in the Podlaskie Voivodeship are very well assessed by training and workshop participants.
Participants and representatives of the authorities have repeatedly said that it is very valuable that we approach the topic holistically, i.e. we train specialists, educate the elderly and the public opinion through a social campaign.
The relationships we have established with local authorities and institutions are also an undoubted benefit. They will certainly result in cooperation and exchange of experiences and good practices in the future.
Thanks to its activities in Grajewo, the foundation got to know the employees of the Police Headquarters and established cooperation. It is so good and valuable that we organized a press meeting together and will organize another one.
As part of the project, the foundation also established close cooperation with the Provincial Police Headquarters in Białystok and the District Police Headquarters in Kolno.
We have just signed a cooperation agreement with the former and we are planning further joint activities in the Podlaskie Voivodeship.
Thanks to PKP Kolno, we got to know health care representatives in Kolno and the surrounding area better, and we are planning further training together for local health care facilities in Kolno and the surrounding area.