Member's statement: World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
Member's statement by Ms Connie Egan on .
- MLA
- Ms Connie Egan
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 15 June 2026
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5613267
Read the official Assembly record
Text
As work across our government on tackling domestic and sexual violence continues, it is vital that we centre our approach on the needs of victims and on delivering justice for those who face such abuse. Victims need to be heard and treated with respect. Today, I focus my statement on a group that can often feel that it is left behind in the progress that is being made: our older population.
Today is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, which is coordinated by the charity Hourglass to raise the visibility of older people in the delivery of work and conversations around domestic abuse.
That organisation calls for a proactive approach to safer ageing across the UK, lobbying to ensure that older people are not a blind spot in work to build a safe society that does not tolerate abuse in any way, shape or form.
That will only become more and more relevant as our population develops, as evidenced by the fact that it is expected that, as soon as mid-2027, there will be more people aged 65 and over than children aged nought to 15 in Northern Ireland. That is already the case in the area of Ards and North Down, where I am from. We have to take seriously the experiences and treatment of older people. In 2024, Hourglass research revealed that one in five older people in the UK is a victim of abuse. If you project that on to Northern Ireland's population, it means that over 100,000 older people here have experienced abuse. Every victim's experience is different, and forms of violence and abuse can include financial exploitation and coercive control, medical gaslighting, withholding healthcare and, of course, physical and sexual violence. To be clear, it is not just about abuse between partners and those who have been in a relationship for some time. Hourglass data shows that adult children account for around 44% of alleged perpetrators who are known to victims. Today, we must stand together to ensure that older people are not overlooked when it comes to abuse. To quote Hourglass:
"The next twenty years cannot simply be about better understanding the abuse of older people. They must be about creating real change towards a safer ageing society."
We cannot minimise the experience of those victims. We must work together across the Assembly to drive real progress on that issue.
395 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.03 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.76).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- Subject area: Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.06 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.76 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 1.00 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:47 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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