Cease and desist! - Labour minister urges persons to stop abusing seniors

Labour and Social Security Minister Shahine Robinson has encouraged Jamaicans to protect the elderly by reporting incidents of abuse meted out to them to the police or the National Council for Senior Citizens.

The minister said that the abuse of seniors should be of grave concern to all "decent and law-abiding citizens", noting that the practice must be stopped.

"No person in society should be subject to abuse, and definitely not our seniors who, because of their age, become vulnerable and are preyed upon by heartless and uncaring persons. They are being abused physically, financially, and otherwise. This must stop," she emphasised.

The minister was addressing the press launch for Senior Citizens Week last Friday at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston.

"[Seniors] must be respected, and their rights must not be violated. Those of you, who are engaged in it, I say to you, desist from it because if it means that civil penalties will have to be imposed as a deterrent, then so shall it be," she asserted.

Robinson said that the ministry was working towards building a Jamaica where healthy relationships are fostered among elders and all other citizens, leading to the transfer of knowledge, which will serve to preserve the country's legacy.

Senior Citizens Week is being observed from September 22 to October 1 under the theme 'Forging our Future: Embracing the Participation, Contribution and Talents of Older Persons'.

A national tree-planting ceremony will be held tomorrow at the Stimulation Child Development Centre at 1A Ostend Close in Kingston. All other parishes conducted tree-planting activities yesterday.

Sunday, September 30, will be observed as National Grandparents Day, while International Day for Older Persons will be marked on Monday, October 1.