Photograph: Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images
Dementia amongst older persons renders them vulnerable to abuse and neglect: Khulumani Facilitators in Eastern Cape are to be trained as Lead Community Educators about Dementia in Older Persons.
One of the causes of the growing problem of elder abuse in South Africa is a lack of community awareness and understanding of dementia as a complex illness which begins with forgetfulness and which worsens as the brain cells of affected persons gradually die.
Loss of short-term memory causes the affected person to feel insecure, agitated and sometimes withdrawn or angry when they are unable to make themselves understood. As the disease progresses, affected older persons become unable to look after their own health and hygiene; they cannot think clearly and they cannot find the right words to express their thoughts, feelings, needs and wishes. Eventually, they may become unable to recognise the faces of close family and friend; they may become easily lost and lose all sense of time. Family and community members often do not understand what is happening when the person’s behaviour changes and they struggle to know how best to respond to help the person with dementia feel safe and secure.
Many older persons with dementia have been attacked or killed by community members who fear they have become witches or have been possessed by spirits.
Another widely held belief is that these confused older people who cannot protect themselves, are ‘virgins and they become vulnerable to be raped.
Khulumani is grateful to have been offered the opportunity to have the training of community educators extended from KwaZulu Natal to the Eastern Cape. The training will involve six Khulumani facilitators from the Lukhanji Municipality as the lead community educators for the rolling out of the programme in the Eastern Cape.
The attached article produced by Help Age International explains why dementia is affecting more and more older persons and what can be done to protect their rights.
