Capping pensions at a maximum that was never raised was “abusive” and “discriminatory” against elderly people, the president of the National Council for the Elderly, Anthony Mulè Stagno, said on Wednesday.
During a discussion by the House Social Affairs Committee on the abuse of the elderly, Mr Mulè Stagno argued that many pensioners were in precarious situations, often working for less than the minimum wage on the pretext that they were part-timers.
When pensions were introduced, the maximum was intended to be index linked to the salary of the President of Malta, he recalled.
He said he did not receive the maximum social security pension, which he had a right for since he was also entitled to a Treasury pension. In this context, the fact that other categories of pensioners could receive four concurrent pensions was unfair, he lamented.
Mr Mulè Stagno said many elderly citizens abused by their children, whether financially, physically or otherwise, did not report it for fear of being abandoned.
Criminologist Saviour Formosa noted that although Malta was a rather safe country, repeat victimisation was a problem, especially in cases when the aggressor was a family member.
There had been an overall drop in the crime rate in recent years, although the number of victims was increasing due to a bigger population. Whereas crime had, in the past, tended to be of a more public nature, it was increasingly making itself felt in the private and technological spheres, with domestic violence becoming more prevalent than bodily harm.
Prof. Formosa argued that the elderly were most vulnerable to crime during the morning hours, when their regular routines exposed them to those noticing their movements. He called for a targeted approach to defending the elderly from such vulnerabilities and to address an expected increase in cybercrime and other technological offences, adding that unreported “dark crimes” had to be given more attention.
Anthony Scerri, from the Department of Nursing at the University of Malta’s medical school, said there were far more incidents of abuse than were reported.
“Healthcare professionals were indispensable when it came to reducing the incidence and impact of abuse, often being the first to recognise warning signs,” Dr Scerri said.
The prevalence of abuse in healthcare institutions was unknown, with cases mainly involving elderly patients who suffered from physical or cognitive disability.
Patients suffering from dementia, he added, were sometimes placed under excessive restraint out of fear they would run away.