Social Exclusion Of Elderly People In Australia: Sociological Perspective

Theoretical framework of social exclusion

Social exclusion is a social vice which detaches the people in a community on the basis of certain differences. This separates individuals and groups from certain social interactions and relations such that they cannot fully participate in the normal societal activities. In this case, the circulation of information and communication concerning societal events and activities is limited to the excluded group of people (Beall et al., 2014). The most excluded groups in the society are the elderly people, a problem which is common in the contemporary world including Australia. In such instances, the old people are not given the necessary support and care that under normal circumstances they should receive from the family and the community. In this case, the old people develop low self-esteem because they feel excluded from the family and the community. Some of the common services and support that the elderly people need include financial help, security, health care, and emotional as well as physical support. This problem becomes more pronounced especially when the greater population is composed of the young people. This leaves the old people with lack of representation in the societal matters, narrow range access to some community-based services and support (Maxwell et a., 2013). For instance, in the rural areas, the old people cannot access health facilities with ease due to poor road infrastructure or lack of finances to facilitate transport services. This paper, therefore, addresses the issues of social exclusion of the elderly people in Australia on a sociological basis.

Social Gerontology offers a clear connection between social exclusion and aging. It presents exclusion as a form of disengagement or withdrawal of services from the marginal areas of the family or the community. In this case, the institutional exclusion for instance among the old people arises when the old people and those who live with them are deprived of some social benefits that in turn hampers their lives (Balamurugan, 2014). The intensive care that the elderly people are in dire need of requires strongly networked families, neighbors, and friends who play important roles. While emotional support is very important for the social lives of the elderly people when they are excluded, they would prefer to associate with and speak to other people but not family members. There are some negative attitudes which are developed towards the old people and are linked to depression, poor mental health and poor general health (Morris et al., 2014).  The attitudes of the older adults concerning aging give them psychological problems.

Vulnerabilities of social exclusion among the elderly

Vulnerabilities of social exclusion that the elderly people are prone to include deprivation of housing facilities and consumer goods, lack of contact with friend and family members, isolation, lack of participation in social activities, loneliness and civic community activities. For instance, provision of housing facilities affects the social relations of the elderly people (Miranti and Yu, 2015). An elderly person who has a decent house and home feels socially inclusive because they can present a form of security, pride, and stability. However, if they have no decent houses, friends, lack of children to pay them tribute when they pass away, finances to cater for their funeral and other needs make them develop negative feelings at their old age (Lai and Tong, 2012). The elderly and process of urbanization are among the major factors which are common in the World in the twenty-first century. In Australia, the proportion of old age is high because of decreased fertility rates, high longevity indicating that the baby boomer generation is also maturing at a relatively high rate.

The increased number of elderly people in Australia is seen as a social burden (Taylor et al., 2016). This is socially wrong because if the old people were to be able to have their health and social happiness until the last days of their lives with continuous productive activities, they would be viewed as an important resource to the society. The low-density area of Australia where there is urban development cannot be a conducive enabling environment for the aging people. This because there lacks the provision of social amenities like libraries, doctors which are essential for the productive engagement. Moreover, most of the development is in the urban cities a well an increased rural to an urban center. In term of housing facilities, Australia does not offer a decent environment to the elderly people in a holistic manner. In most cases, as life expectancy increases in Australia, so does the functionality of the elderly people change leading to impairments.   The disabilities that come along aging in Australia are viewed as individual problems and thus these people are left to suffer alone.

Social exclusion in the elderly is also common in the Aboriginals in Australia. This is due to the clash in terms of culture leading to social exclusion and assimilation (Wang, 2015). When this social exclusion occurs, it means the Aboriginal elderly people might not be able to obtain essential social services and facilities. In this case, the social exclusion among these people is presented in terms of segregation, ethnocentrism, assimilation and oppression with their culture being viewed to be inferior. While the elderly Australians are associated with strong communities, the increased development of negative attitude towards them makes them prone to social exclusion. In many cases, they are referred as being too old or to be past their age by dates. As such most of the elderly people end up missing during training sessions, work and studies among other opportunities (Engels and Liu, 2011).

Social exclusion of elderly people in Australia

According to Australian Human Rights Commission, 2014, the Age Discrimination Act in Australia was introduced in an effort to reduce the unlawful exclusion of elderly in public areas as well curbing the negative stereotypes developed against them. However, these laws have not been effectively put into practice as many more elderly Australians are being excluded from social events and activities. For instance, most of the elderly Australians find problems in looking for job opportunities or working longer for extra payments because the employers refer to them as being too old (Warburton et al., 2014). In other cases, these people are turned down for jobs, ignored during joke sessions, get ignored or other times that are addressed in a rude manner. The Aboriginal Australians have a higher rate of disability and health problems as compared to other Australians, indicating that majority of the socially excluded people are the Aboriginals (Makai et al., 2014). The majority of the old people in Australia are poor, homeless and their only source of finance is the age pension which might not be able to meet all their needs.

Conclusion

Bearing in mind the needs and want that arise to people during their old ages, it is important for families and communities to team up and offer social services to the elderly people. They also need to involve them in social activities so that they can remain functionally active and engaged. There also should be proper laws in Australia which advocate for fair treatment and association with elderly people as well as enabling them to combat diseases. Differences in culture and language should not be used as a factor for excluding old Australians from societal activities. This is because of these people if treated well and included in such programs and other activities, they can turn out to be quite resourceful to the people. 

References

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