World Elder Abuse Awareness Day: Five ways Local Authorities can support safer ageing

What does it mean to age well? What does it mean to age safely?

We often talk about good health, secure housing, financial resilience and strong social connections. Yet one issue rarely features in discussions about later life despite its profound impact on all of these outcomes: the abuse of older people.

At Hourglass, we talk about the importance of “safer ageing”. Older people can face physical and attitudinal barriers that create circumstances of actual or presumed age-related vulnerability. These barriers can increase the risk of abuse, harm, exploitation and neglect, undermining people's independence, wellbeing and ability to participate fully in their communities.

That is why safer ageing is such an important concept. It is about creating the conditions that allow older people to live securely, independently and free from abuse – not just responding when abuse occurs. And it is occurring. We had more than 12,500 calls to our helpline in 2025/26, and we think more than 2.6 million older people every year are affected by abuse.

For local authorities, this presents both a challenge and an opportunity.

Councils play a critical role in shaping the environments in which people age. Through responsibilities spanning public health, housing, adult social care, safeguarding and community wellbeing, local government is uniquely placed to embed safer ageing into local policy and practice. 

1. Make the abuse of older people a strategic priority.  

If later life abuse sits only on the margins of safeguarding plans, older people risk becoming invisible. A dedicated priority, action plan or multi-agency group can help ensure the issue receives the attention it deserves.

2. Improve local data collection.  

Prevention depends on understanding the scale and nature of the problem. Councils should know how many older people are experiencing abuse, how many safeguarding concerns involve family members, and how often issues such as coercive control, economic abuse or abuse by adult children are occurring locally.

3. Invest in training and awareness.  

Safer ageing starts with recognising abuse and understanding its impact. Older victim-survivors often face unique barriers to disclosure, including dependency on the person causing harm, fear of losing their home, or concerns about burdening family members. Building awareness across the workforce helps create more opportunities to identify risk and intervene early.

4. Strengthen multi-agency working.  

Abuse rarely fits neatly within organisational boundaries. Effective responses require adult safeguarding, housing, health services, domestic abuse specialists and community organisations to work together around the needs of older people.  

5. Invest in public awareness.  

Prevention relies on people recognising abuse and knowing where to seek support. Many older people do not identify their experiences as abuse, particularly where the perpetrator is a family member or trusted individual. Public awareness campaigns can help change that.

We think creating communities where people can age better means creating communities where people can age safely. As our population ages, safer ageing should not be viewed as a niche safeguarding concern. It should be recognised as a fundamental part of healthy ageing itself. By focusing on prevention, improving awareness and building systems that protect and empower older people, local authorities can help ensure that later life is defined not by vulnerability, but by dignity, independence and security.

Hourglass is the only UK-wide charity dedicated to stopping the abuse, harm, exploitation and neglect of older people.

Their free, confidential helpline is available 24/7 on 0808 808 8141.