Most of the crimes against senior citizens are committed in their own homes by family members or people that they know, said Brig MA Hartzenberg.
The sub-district commissioner was speaking at an imbizo for senior citizens last week.
Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Andries Nel had called the imbizo in response to a request from senior citizen clubs. Seniors from several clubs packed the Frog Centre in Woodlands on Thursday 24 July to air their concerns.
Nel said seniors had identified several areas where they had on-going challenges, such as health, transport, justice services and Sassa access.
“For today the focus will be on issues of health, transport, crime and justice services,” he said. “We’ll follow up on water, electricity, home affairs and Sassa.”
Laws protecting seniors
He brought a panel of representatives from various government departments to address these issues.
Ncebakazi Mlunjwa, provincial assistant director for court intermediary services, encouraged seniors to “be vocal” about their rights.
“There’s a law that speaks about you and protects your rights,” she said, referring to the Senior Citizens Protection Act.
“You can help to inform people about this act and its implementation by speaking up,” she said.
She reminded seniors of their rights saying: “you have the right to manage your own finances”.
“If a family member takes away your Sassa card, that’s domestic violence,” she said.
The elderly are vulnerable to abuse and it is everyone’s responsibility to report it if they suspected that an older person is being abused, she said.
“You have to report that. You mustn’t keep quiet.”
Hartzenberg, however, highlighted some of the reasons why seniors were reluctant to speak out about abuses against them, saying they feared victimisation, embarrassment, isolation and abandonment.
“We see a lot of older persons on the streets,” he said, adding that families sometimes abandon seniors to take possession of their property.
He said the most common crime against seniors is assault and most of the reported cases have happened in the person’s own home and by their own children or grandchildren. He added there were cases where the perpetrators were strangers and encouraged senior clubs to reach out to their peers who were isolated.
“They know when you are alone at home,” he warned.
Nel reminded seniors of the value they added to society.
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