‘How can we support ourselves if we’re denied our social rights?’: the 3rd week of the #AgeingEqual campaign in a nutshell

Our third #AgeingEqual campaigning week raised the issue of ageism as a barrier to the enjoyment of social rights by older people. On 17th October, International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, we gave a special focus to poverty, social exclusion and loneliness in old age as factors leading to denials of human rights. We published again short blogs from our partners sharing evidence of the negative effects of ageism and social rights denials both for the individual and for society. We received touching testimonies from self-advocates helping us to get a sense of the realities on the ground. Rediscover our weekly highlights with this post!

 

Both the individuals and society loose from social rights denials!

Indispensable to ensure people’s dignity and the free development of everyone’s personality, social rights are the human rights to an adequate standard of living (including food, clothing and housing), the right to health, to education, to work and to social security.

This second week on ageism and social rights gave concrete illustrations of how ageism excludes older people from society. Without full enjoyment of their social rights, older people cannot participate fully in society… and society looses from the potential contributions of older people.

 

Experts discussed the impact of ageism on…

• the right of older people to access employment or to remain on the job
• the capacity of companies to explore how they could benefit from older workers
• the possibility to grow our skills with adult education and vocational training
• the investment in social services that are particularly critical for older people
• the access of older persons to insurance products or health and care services
• the public health policies, especially the assessment of ‘good health’ in old age
• the way medecines are prescribed and managed and its consequences on older patients
• the development of quality long-term care services – including throught appropriate working conditions for workers in the sector and tackling discrimination based on gender and ethnicity given that most of professional carers are women with a migrant background
• the social exclusion of older people and its impact on their quality of life

Read them all! Find all blogposts, testimonies, good practices posted in relation to our thematic focus ‘ageism and social rights’ with the dedicated tag. Grow your understanding of ageism and spread the word!

 

Self-advocates shared touching stories of the difficulties they had to face

• The one of Maria, an informal carer who found herself left alone with her dependent mother
• The one of Vicki, struggling to remain on the job while she has to look after her husband
• The one of Salvatore, working tirelessly to both complete his bachelor thesis and find a job

Do you want to share your experience of ageing? Contact us to give visibility to more examples of age discrimination with a blogpost. You can also use the hashtag #AgeingEqual to add your voice in social media!

 

On 17 October, International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, we recalled the precariousness and social exclusion some people – especially women and migrants – experience when reaching old age

While Eurostat figures show that the overall poverty rates for the population 65+ have been declining, the social realities of older women in particular those living alone, older migrants and elders of ethnic minorities and the ‘oldest old’, have on the contrary worsened. Budgetary cuts are preventing them from enjoying their human rights. More in AGE Platform Europe press release and AGE Policy Director, blogpost on the limits of the current ways of monitoring of poverty and social exclusion in old age.

 

“Research shows that loneliness, depression and social isolation kill more older people than obesity! It is of our common responsibility to take action to #endpoverty” says Ebbe Johansen, AGE President https://t.co/E90PXqXwLF #AgeingEqual #PovertyEradication #IDEP18

— AGE Platform Europe (@AGE_PlatformEU) October 17, 2018

 

And more voices rallied against ageism

• MEP Heinz K. Becker, who is committed to offer the best social conditions possible to Europeans regardless of their age thanks to two major initiatives currently on the table of the Members of the European Parliament: the European Pillar of Social Rights and the Pan-European Pension Product
• Our Australian fellows from EveryAge Counts who have launched a long-term campaign against ageism mid-October

The #AgeingEqual campaign community kept expanding with the participation of new partners working for the respect of social rights in age. Among them we count: the U.N. Programme on Ageing, Eurocarers, Eurodiaconia, UNI Europa as well as research teams from the Euroageism project and the ROSE network.

 

You kept spreading the word to raise consciousness against ageism and we can only thank you for your support – let’s keep up the good team work!

 

Older workers do not take jobs away from younger ones (see “lump of labor” fallacy). Mandatory retirement cheats society. More info from @AGE_PlatformEU here: https://t.co/QXdfMLhDiD #SocialRights #AgeingEqual

— Ashton Applewhite (@thischairrocks) October 12, 2018

Из-за негативного отношения к пожилым людям гораздо меньше инвестиций в услуги и нехватка работников по уходу. “Каждый человек имеет право на медицинскую помощь”, говорится во Всеобщей декларации прав человека (статья 25): https://t.co/iWKuFPZzce … #AgeingEqual #SocialRights https://t.co/UE6mmm42G6

— Эдуард Карюхин (@Activdolgolet) October 20, 2018

Labelled as “old” when turning 65! We do not automatically fall into the “old-age dependents” on our 65th birthday! Chronological age is misleading, and #ageist. Great paper & work @IIASAVienna @AthlosProject #ImOldSoWhat #AgeIsJustANumber #AgeingEqual https://t.co/ZaSk7VybCi

— Ilenia_AGE (@Ilenia_AGE) October 19, 2018

Je suis assez frappé par la volonté des personnes qui avancent en âge de continuer de participer à la vie de la cité. Ils ont des choses à apporter, de l’expérience, une vision/Déclaration Patrick Gohet, Adjt @Defenseurdroits 5è Rencontres RFVAA #AgeingEqual #StandUp4HumanRights pic.twitter.com/0rPZvUvfT6

— Rfvaa (@RFVAA) October 17, 2018

 

The next week (22-28 October) of this 70-day campaign that will be dedicated to ageism in relation to migration. The collection of life experiences and evidences from research will be critical to grow our understanding of what it means to age as a migrant or to move in old age. Join the debate !

 

Together We Can Make A Difference!

Share your story using the hashtag #AgeingEqual
and help us shine a spotlight on ageism.

 

 

Read our previous weekly highlights:

‘Older women carry on – as they always do’: the 2nd week of the #AgeingEqual campaign in a nutshell

A first week of campaigning for ageing with equal rights!