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No One Left Alone: Loneliness, Mental Health, and Elder Abuse Across Cultures | A Global Call to Action
In recognition of UN World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD), this international online panel will feature speakers from India, Chile, Canada, Japan, and South Africa. In this panel, we will explore the urgent and often overlooked connections between loneliness, mental health, social exclusion, ageism, and elder abuse across diverse cultural contexts.
Panelists:
Deborah Oliveira (Chile)
Miyae Yamakawa (Japan)
Sivakumar Palanimuthu Thangaraju (India)
Carla Kotze (South Africa)
David Conn (Canada)
Loneliness and social isolation are increasingly recognized as major public health concerns with serious consequences for mental health, well-being, cognitive health, and quality of life in later years. At the same time, isolation can increase vulnerability to abuse and neglect, while experiences of abuse may further deepen withdrawal, fear, and disconnection. Across societies, ageism and structural inequities often reinforce these challenges, leaving many older persons unseen, unheard, and unsupported.
This panel will examine how these intersecting issues manifest around the world and identify practical, actionable strategies to promote dignity, inclusion, safety, and meaningful connection for older persons.
Through cross-cultural dialogue and audience engagement, the session aims to move beyond awareness toward action—highlighting the shared responsibility of clinicians, communities, organizations, and policymakers in preventing elder abuse and ensuring that no older person is left alone.
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