AUSTRALIA: New Police Unit Will Handle Family Violence

SUNBURY, Victoria, Australia (Sunbury Leader), April 21, 2008: By Simon Craig CARERS who abuse the elderly will be targeted by a proposed new police unit being set up to tackle family violence. Hume police are planning to establish a taskforce to confront the city's chronic family violence problem. Family violence figures in Hume are expected to reach new highs this year, driven in part by a greater willingness to report the problem. Hume Insp Eoghan McDonald said the four to six-officer unit would confront family violence in all its forms. Insp McDonald said research revealed violence against older people in Australia, either by their children or a paid career, was a growing issue. But the extent of the problem was difficult to gauge. While health and social workers are obliged to report suspected child abuse, there is no such requirement for suspected attacks on the elderly. "Abuse of the elderly is well recognised among the health services," Insp McDonald said. "We have to be far more analytical in our responses to these problems." Dianella Community Health family services director Suzy Pinchen welcomed any action to confront family violence. "There's an issue of elderly abuse but most of what we hear is anecdotal," she said. "We also hear about violence between siblings, and of teenagers abusing their parents, particularly their mothers. "We are not just talking about physical abuse, there's financial and emotional abuse. Women and children are being deprived of income and access to food." Ms Pinchen said she believed social isolation was the "critical" trigger for family violence. Copyright 2006 Leader Community Newspapers