Charity claims ageism is worsening
Discrimination against older people is increasing, according to a new survey from the charity Age Concern.
30 per cent of those questioned said they believe that prejudice against older people is worse than five years ago, with 28 per cent believing it will get worse over the next five years, and 75 per cent believing there will be no change.
The charity questioned 850 people over the age of 16 for the survey.
Following the results, it is calling on the Government to take action against what it terms discrimination in the public services, and bring forward legislation in the Queen’s Speech to set up a single equality body.
Proposals to set up a single body to monitor equality across all areas, including gender, racial, sexual and age, seem to have stalled in recent months. Though the Government is still keen to set up the Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR), some of the bodies set to be merged have expressed concerns that the focus may shift away from protecting minorities.
Gordon Lishman, director general of Age Concern England said: “Ageism is the last form of legal discrimination. It is often invisible and is endemic in our culture. This has to change. The cult of youth does not match the reality of people’s lives and we are living in the age of the older person. It’s time for the Government to take action to give older people the rights and equality they need and deserve.”
Age Concern is campaigning against the fact that over 54s are not eligible for student loans, upper age limits on products such as car insurance and credit cards, and that over 70s are not invited by the NHS to undergo screening against breast cancer.
Today, the charity is unveiling a series of new equality campaigning billboards which will feature the top of an anonymous grey-haired man’s head with the caption “Ignore this poster- it’s got grey hair.”
The Government has previously announced plans to outlaw ageism in the work place by 2006. With the population ageing, the Government is increasingly keen to keep older people within the workforce for as long as possible.
