How do we promote the rights of older persons?
Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 6:58 am
Concern for the rights of older people is an increasingly visible and relevant issue. In this blog we will focus on delving deeper into this topic and visualizing some of the actions aimed at promoting rights and preventing abuse of older people.
Human Rights and Older People
As we know, all human beings are subjects of rights and duties regardless of our age, sex, beliefs, ethnicity, among others. This means that each person deserves to be recognized as an individual and also as a member of a community and society based on universal principles founded on respect and dignity.
However, age, as a category that governs our life cycle, has especially conditioned certain human groups in the full exercise of their rights, including those of older people. One of the most relevant effects of this is related to ageism, which, as we have pointed out in other blogs, refers to the set of stereotypes, discriminations and prejudiced attitudes that are generated by age issues. According to studies carried out on the subject, a strong ageism is culturally rooted in Chile, which unfortunately associates old age with illness, passivity and fragility. The above has also been accompanied by policies that have seen the older adult population as an object of protection and shelter by the State, families and society, where we can find, for example, low access to information and consent in matters of health or unfriendly urban planning.
Through this background we can see that aging in our country can become a complex and challenging stage to experience, which is why the need to develop actions or strategies that contribute to the vindication and recognition of their rights becomes essential.
A relevant milestone aimed at reducing existing gaps is observed in recent years through the ratification, by the Chilean State, of the Inter-American Convention on the Protection of the Human Rights of Older Persons, an instrument that establishes specific mechanisms to guarantee aspects such as quality of life, well-being, health and social security that ensure the full exercise and enjoyment of the rights of older persons on an equal basis. In this sense, the principles contained in this treaty should guide the State in the development of laws, social policies, programs and promote the production of a cultural, social and institutional turn that contributes to resolving the imbalance and inequality in which this age group is immersed, as well as favoring the emergence of new, more positive views of old age and from its heterogeneity and reality.
Strategies for the promotion, prevention and protection of the rights of older persons
Promoting and protecting the rights, as well as preventing situations of abuse towards older people, is an effort that not only corresponds to the State or to institutions, but to society as a whole, that is, to all of us. In the deployment of these actions, the role of older people cannot be made invisible or relegated to being spectators of these processes, but on the contrary, they must acquire an active and leading role that allows them to mobilize, individually and collectively, exercising citizenship on an equal basis. Empowerment and knowledge of their rights will be fundamental elements to achieve this purpose.
Among the actions that actively involve older people in the promotion and protection of their rights we can find:
1. Intergenerational solidarity
It can be defined as the search for cooperation, integration and exchange philippines mobile number between people of different generations. This collaborative interaction can occur in family spaces, where people of different ages live together, as well as in extra-family spaces such as the neighborhood, work, community and territory.
Why is it so important to have intergenerational solidarity in our society?
Its relevance lies in some of the following aspects:
Reduces myths, prejudices and stereotypes associated with age.
It generates instances of transfer of knowledge and experiences between different generations.
It promotes the creation of social collaboration, trust and mutual support.
It can generate communities and societies with greater belonging and integration.
In our country, experiences have been implemented to promote intergenerational exchange, with older people as protagonists. An outstanding example of this is the Voluntariado País de Mayores Program (National Service for Older Adults, SENAMA), which seeks to promote social integration and intergenerational relationships between older people and children from families in vulnerable situations in the Social Protection system.
The elderly people who participate in this program carry out volunteer work aimed at providing knowledge and experiences so that students improve their academic performance by involving their families in the educational process. Through the execution of this initiative, the elderly have encouraged their social and community participation as well as a positive image of old age. If you are interested in this initiative, you can find it at the end of this blog in the recommended readings.
In this area, it is worth highlighting that in addition to the role that the State must have in its promotion and reinforcement, it will be very important that as people we recognize and value, in our daily lives, intergenerational solidarity as one of the basic pillars of interaction and collaboration between people of different ages.
2. Social participation:
For all people, social participation is a factor that protects and promotes both mental and physical health. In particular, for older people it can also represent an important driver of empowerment and awareness of their rights. According to SENAMA figures, more than 35% of older people participate in social organizations, a percentage much higher than the participation of the population between 15 and 59 years of age, which reaches 25%. Among the organizations in which older people participate, there are Neighborhood Councils or other territorial organizations, religious organizations, groups of older people, Sports Clubs, among others. One of the most recognizable forms in this area are the organizations of older people, which in our country would be more than 13 thousand.
A lesser-known example of participation among older people is the Residents' Councils, organizations that can be formed within Long-Stay Establishments for Older Adults (ELEAM) whose objective is to promote the exercise of rights and their participation in the operation of the residence by constituting a space for the exposition of concerns, doubts and improvements. Residents' councils are voluntary and inclusive spaces where all residents can participate regardless of their level of dependency. If you want to know more about residents' councils, check out the recommended readings and you will find more information.
Human Rights and Older People
As we know, all human beings are subjects of rights and duties regardless of our age, sex, beliefs, ethnicity, among others. This means that each person deserves to be recognized as an individual and also as a member of a community and society based on universal principles founded on respect and dignity.
However, age, as a category that governs our life cycle, has especially conditioned certain human groups in the full exercise of their rights, including those of older people. One of the most relevant effects of this is related to ageism, which, as we have pointed out in other blogs, refers to the set of stereotypes, discriminations and prejudiced attitudes that are generated by age issues. According to studies carried out on the subject, a strong ageism is culturally rooted in Chile, which unfortunately associates old age with illness, passivity and fragility. The above has also been accompanied by policies that have seen the older adult population as an object of protection and shelter by the State, families and society, where we can find, for example, low access to information and consent in matters of health or unfriendly urban planning.
Through this background we can see that aging in our country can become a complex and challenging stage to experience, which is why the need to develop actions or strategies that contribute to the vindication and recognition of their rights becomes essential.
A relevant milestone aimed at reducing existing gaps is observed in recent years through the ratification, by the Chilean State, of the Inter-American Convention on the Protection of the Human Rights of Older Persons, an instrument that establishes specific mechanisms to guarantee aspects such as quality of life, well-being, health and social security that ensure the full exercise and enjoyment of the rights of older persons on an equal basis. In this sense, the principles contained in this treaty should guide the State in the development of laws, social policies, programs and promote the production of a cultural, social and institutional turn that contributes to resolving the imbalance and inequality in which this age group is immersed, as well as favoring the emergence of new, more positive views of old age and from its heterogeneity and reality.
Strategies for the promotion, prevention and protection of the rights of older persons
Promoting and protecting the rights, as well as preventing situations of abuse towards older people, is an effort that not only corresponds to the State or to institutions, but to society as a whole, that is, to all of us. In the deployment of these actions, the role of older people cannot be made invisible or relegated to being spectators of these processes, but on the contrary, they must acquire an active and leading role that allows them to mobilize, individually and collectively, exercising citizenship on an equal basis. Empowerment and knowledge of their rights will be fundamental elements to achieve this purpose.
Among the actions that actively involve older people in the promotion and protection of their rights we can find:
1. Intergenerational solidarity
It can be defined as the search for cooperation, integration and exchange philippines mobile number between people of different generations. This collaborative interaction can occur in family spaces, where people of different ages live together, as well as in extra-family spaces such as the neighborhood, work, community and territory.
Why is it so important to have intergenerational solidarity in our society?
Its relevance lies in some of the following aspects:
Reduces myths, prejudices and stereotypes associated with age.
It generates instances of transfer of knowledge and experiences between different generations.
It promotes the creation of social collaboration, trust and mutual support.
It can generate communities and societies with greater belonging and integration.
In our country, experiences have been implemented to promote intergenerational exchange, with older people as protagonists. An outstanding example of this is the Voluntariado País de Mayores Program (National Service for Older Adults, SENAMA), which seeks to promote social integration and intergenerational relationships between older people and children from families in vulnerable situations in the Social Protection system.
The elderly people who participate in this program carry out volunteer work aimed at providing knowledge and experiences so that students improve their academic performance by involving their families in the educational process. Through the execution of this initiative, the elderly have encouraged their social and community participation as well as a positive image of old age. If you are interested in this initiative, you can find it at the end of this blog in the recommended readings.
In this area, it is worth highlighting that in addition to the role that the State must have in its promotion and reinforcement, it will be very important that as people we recognize and value, in our daily lives, intergenerational solidarity as one of the basic pillars of interaction and collaboration between people of different ages.
2. Social participation:
For all people, social participation is a factor that protects and promotes both mental and physical health. In particular, for older people it can also represent an important driver of empowerment and awareness of their rights. According to SENAMA figures, more than 35% of older people participate in social organizations, a percentage much higher than the participation of the population between 15 and 59 years of age, which reaches 25%. Among the organizations in which older people participate, there are Neighborhood Councils or other territorial organizations, religious organizations, groups of older people, Sports Clubs, among others. One of the most recognizable forms in this area are the organizations of older people, which in our country would be more than 13 thousand.
A lesser-known example of participation among older people is the Residents' Councils, organizations that can be formed within Long-Stay Establishments for Older Adults (ELEAM) whose objective is to promote the exercise of rights and their participation in the operation of the residence by constituting a space for the exposition of concerns, doubts and improvements. Residents' councils are voluntary and inclusive spaces where all residents can participate regardless of their level of dependency. If you want to know more about residents' councils, check out the recommended readings and you will find more information.