THE NATIONAL ASSISTANCE BOARD (NAB) has expressed serious concern about elder abuse in Barbados.
And having had to investigate just over 200 reported cases in the past five years, the NAB is awaiting legislation dealing with the matter.
This is according to assistant director Andrew Browne who said elderly people in Barbados were being physically, sexually and financially abused. However, he said, addressing the issue had been difficult in the absence of legislation.
Browne was speaking to the media yesterday at Redman’s Village, St Thomas, where the St James Central District Emergency Organization coordinated the installation of smoke detectors at a number of homes of elderly people living alone.
Browne said that because of Alzheimer’s or dementia, most elderly individuals had a tendency to walk away from their residences and as a result, family members would “restrain them with rope, cord, chain, things of that nature”.
