Building Stronger Ageing Policies To Prevent Elder Abuse

Abstract

Ageing policy development and elder abuse prevention remains a critical public health and social justice priority, requiring robust policy frameworks and coordinated institutional responses to protect vulnerable older populations. This comparative-reflexive study examines existing legislative frameworks and public policies for protecting older adults from abuse in Slovakia and Norway. While Norway has implemented "SafeEst", a comprehensive model mandating interdisciplinary coordination between healthcare, social services and law enforcement at municipality level, Slovakia's approach primarily operates through the Ministry of Interior in cooperation with the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family. The study identifies three key areas requiring development in both countries: 1) Legal framework enhancement -- Norway lacks specific elder abuse legislation while Slovakia needs stronger implementation of existing protections. 2) Service delivery standardisation -- Norway requires consistent SafeEst implementation across municipalities while Slovakia needs development of local-level coordination mechanisms. 3) Prevention strategy development -- both countries need expanded digital abuse prevention, enhanced professional training, and improved rural service accessibility. These findings suggest that combining Norway's preventive, community-based approach with Slovakia's strong legal protection could create a more comprehensive elder abuse prevention framework, applicable across different national contexts.