COVID-19 and Ageism
In the COVID-19 pandemic we have seen the surfacing of some deep-seated ageist attitudes toward older people on a number of fronts that need to be acknowledged and addressed.
This page contains information and resources that raise awareness about the impacts of COVID-19 on older Australians (including social and economic) and help us guide policy development to ensure that the rights and well-being of older Australians are maintained in our responses to this global challenge. Many of these resources are informed by the work of our partners or shared by other experts, and we thank them for the leadership they have shown at this time.
EveryAGE Counts response to COVID-19
The EveryAGE Counts response to the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis can be viewed at this link.
The EveryAGE Counts coalition stood alongside our partners on the Every Child campaign to release a statement on the importance of intergenerational solidarity, which you can read by following this link.
Following from our earlier contributions to the Royal Commission on Aged Care Quality and Safety, we made a supplementary submission on the impact of COVID-19 on aged care services. You can view our submission from this page of our website.
Additional Resources
Brotherhood of St Laurence report: Hidden in plain sight: the impact of the COVID-19 response on mature-age low-income people in Australia
Kay Patterson, Age Discrimination Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission: Statement on COVID-19
Australian Association of Gerontology and Charles Sturt University webinar: Exploring the impacts of social distancing on older adults
Aged and Community Services Australia Policy Paper: A Framework for the Aged Care and Healthcare Interface during COVID-19
Older Persons Advocacy Network: Position Statement on access to healthcare
Health Issues Centre Forum Report: COVID-19 - Who makes the call?
Disabled People's Organisations Australia Statement of Concern: COVID-19 Human rights, disability and ethical decision-making
Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability Statement of Concern: The response to the COVID-19 pandemic for people with disability
Silver Rainbow Report: The Impact of COVID-19 on older LGBTI Australians
United Nations Policy Brief: The impact of COVID-19 on older persons
British Society of Gerontology: Statement on COVID-19
The Gerontological Society of America: Understanding Ageism and COVID-19
CommAge (Commonwealth Association for the Ageing) Ageism in the Commonwealth White Paper
Resource pages
COTA Australia COVID-19 information page
Compass (Guiding action on elder abuse) COVID-19 Resources
International Federation on Ageing COVID-19 Resource library
HelpAge International COVID-19 resources page
AGE Platform Europe COVID-19 Resources pace
Old School Anti-Ageism Clearinghouse
IMPORTANT: For accurate up to date information about COVID-19, including links to information in community languages, go to https://www.australia.gov.au/
Have you signed the pledge to end ageism? You can do it here: https://www.everyagecounts.org.au/take_the_pledge