Residents abused by the sergeant majors of retirement villages

Some residents have been abused multiple times and the bullying is so intolerable they have become seriously depressed to the extent of considering suicide. Other residents have become so fearful and anxious they have isolated themselves in their homes and their health has declined. At least one resident reported being admitted to a mental health facility for respite from her living situation. Others have considered leaving their retirement village despite the difficulties involved.

Most of the abuse was committed by fellow residents except for patronisation where 69 per cent of complainants specified management, including village staff, the manager, and head office.

The reality of life for some residents of retirement villages is a far cry from the advertising images of happy, attractive seniors enjoying their older years in luxury accommodation.

The Ageing Without Fear survey report was commissioned by the NSW Retirement Village Residents Association with funding support from NSW Fair Trading. It has aimed a spotlight at the often toxic environment of villages where older people should be able to enjoy their latter years in comfort and safety.

A survey was distributed to 40,000 residents in 120 villages throughout the state - it's estimated there are about 65,000 people over the age of 55 living in NSW retirement villages.

The survey took place in March with 1259 residents aged from 55 to 90+ years (the majority from 70 years to 84 years) responding. Most had lived in their village for less than 10 years and both small and large villages were represented.

The survey used the definition of psychological abuse from the NSW Elder Abuse Toolkit 2016 being, "the infliction of mental stress, fear or feelings of shame and powerlessness. It may be verbal or non-verbal and is usually a pattern of behaviour repeated over time and intended to control the person. Psychological abuse includes social isolation. Typical behaviours exhibited by abusers are pressuring, bullying, intimidating, and harassing a person, verbal abuse, including name-calling, threatening to harm someone, and treating an older person as if they are a child".

According to the report 512 of the 1259 respondents reported experiencing at least one type of psychological abuse and some reported more than one. The proportion of females reporting abuse was higher (44 per cent), than for males (34 per cent). The percentage of the younger age groups (below 80) in the sample reporting abuse was much higher (48 per cent) when compared with the older groups (28 per cent).

The most common source reported for all types of abuse, except patronisation, was fellow residents, with rates over 70 per cent.

The most commonly reported types of abuse were patronisation (31 per cent), harassment (20 per cent) and intimidation (20 per cent). The rate was higher for females than males for all types of abuse, except verbal Females also reported higher rates of intimidation (24 per cent) compared with males (15 per cent).

Victims of abuse also reported altered sleep patterns, feelings of helplessness and low self-esteem.

The most common areas where residents were abused were social and common areas of the village (67 per cent) at village meetings and in their own homes. Some were targeted outside of the village and some by email.

The majority of victims did not seek help for the abuse; of those that did most sought help within the village, very few sought help outside the village.

Roger Pallant, secretary of the NSW RVRA described the stories filtering in from the survey as "shocking", and blamed the sergeant major types of retirement villages. He said the report confirmed the anecdotal evidence the organisation had received.

"I've read all the responses and it's a small percentage of people who are doing the abusing, it's the people who have a sense of their own power."

Mr Pallant said abuse had always been an unstated issued in some retirement villages but residents hadn't had a platform to air their concerns.

Some people reported feeling trapped because it was difficult to sell up and leave because of exit fees and other restrictions, he said.

"This is the only survey on abuse done entirely in retirement villages, all other research into abuse has been done in other environments like aged care or social housing."

However, Mr Pallant stressed that the majority of people have a fantastic experience in retirement village living. "There are a whole heaps of comments saying how wonderful their village is, how wonderful the residents' committee is and how wonderful the management is."

"We need to keep a balanced view about the findings of the report. While there were negative comments from the report there were just a many positive ones. Just under 60% of people who completed the survey did not report any form of abuse."

All villages are supposed to have an elder abuse strategy in place but two thirds of survey respondents were not aware of a strategy or had not seen it.

The RVRA has produced a brochure which will be sent to all retirement villages throughout the state to be given to residents with information on psychological abuse, advice for residents' committees and management and advice on where to go for help.

The report's recommendations include developing strategies within retirement villages to mitigate abuse, developing specific information for residents committees, sector stakeholders to review current documentation and training, improving and enforce legislation and establishing a sector ombudsman.

The Retirement Living Council, the Property Council of Australia's national leadership group for the retirement living sector including retirement villages and senior living communities, said it condemned any form of violence, harassment, or abuse taking place in retirement communities, instigated by residents and staff alike.

"We have been working closely with the residents associations on joint initiatives in recent years, including the It's All About Mutual Respect campaign in 2021, designed to combat the rise of abuse in NSW retirement villages," said RLC executive director, Daniel Gannon.

"Together with residents associations, we look forward to implementing the recommendations put forward in the most recent report and will continue to promote the need for respectful behaviour in age-friendly communities to ensure that senior Australians can enjoy the retirement they deserve."

The RVRA is a volunteer member-based organisation that represents the interests of retirement village residents in NSW. It has more than 6000 members living in 297 retirement villages and receives about 500 enquiries from its members annually."

To read the report in full visit www.rvra.org.au 1300-787-213.