Mya Cubitt, Australia 

As an Emergency Physician working in both hospital and community acute care, I often come up against challenges that expand my understanding of acute healthcare delivery for older people.

In the complex area of sexual assault, I was naive in believing that my experience in paediatric and adult acute care, might set me up well in navigating similar situations alongside older women. I was wrong. Having recently faced multiple conversations with overwhelmed colleagues and distraught family members seeking to support older women at risk of or after sexual assault, I went looking for resources to better understand what is known about this tricky area.

Do you know what is available in your jurisdiction? What would you do if faced with a similar issue?

As Dr Catherine Barrett, Director of the Older People And Sexual Rights (OPAL) Institute in Australia says, “The fact that older women are sexually assaulted is an uncomfortable truth; no one wants to believe this happens”. Read her article “An Uncomfortable Truth: The sexual assault of older women” here.

In Australia, a great resource is the #ReadyToListen project led by The Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN). This project, funded by the Department of Health aimed to “build the skills and capacity of residential aged care service providers to better respond to – and prevent – sexual assault in residential aged care.”

View the project resources, guidelines and access the facilitator course here.

If you know of other resources from your jurisdiction, we would love to hear from you.