The bookmark is being translated into 5 key community languages (Arabic, German, Simplified Chinese,
Greek and Italian) with further languages to follow in 2021–22. The bookmarks will be distributed with
support from government and community stakeholders.
COVID-19 continued to cause disruption to the distribution of the elder abuse materials; however,
numerous organisations disseminated the resources during this period. For example, a partnership with
Australia Post resulted in a campaign from June and July 2021 distributing bookmarks in 3,501 outlets
across Australia, in conjunction with World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on 15 June.
In this period, Commissioner Patterson also facilitated a collaboration among allied health stakeholders to
develop elder abuse training materials for their workforces. She continued to raise the importance of
harmonising powers of attorney legislation across jurisdictions and developing a national online register
of powers of attorney with the Meeting of Attorneys-General.
In the coming year, Commissioner Patterson will continue her advocacy and education around elder abuse
and the supports available.
Case study 4:
Elder Abuse Awareness Campaign
For two weeks in October 2020, and again in December 2020–January 2021, the Commission ran a hard-hitting elder
abuse awareness campaign called ‘Know the Signs’. The campaign video played across the Commission’s social and
digital media platforms, online media, and in public service announcements on TV and radio.
During the two short campaign periods, more than 776,000 people saw the video in their social media feeds and more
than 410,000 people watched it. The public service announcement was broadcast 520 times on TV in metro and
regional locations across Australia and more than 480 times on radio over the busy Christmas period. The Commission
received multiple requests from organisations including policing and healthcare for permission to use the video in
their own training (all requests granted), and overseas organisations – including gaining international attention where
the Red Cross in Serbia asked, and have repurposed the content, to make their own version of the video.
Racism. It Stops with Me
Since 2012, the Racism. It Stops With Me (RISWM) campaign has been supporting Australians to understand
the nature and impact of racism, and providing tools to address it. Over this period, the campaign has
achieved strong brand recognition and a significant supporter base, including more than 400 organisational
supporters. Previous evaluations attest to the strength of the campaign in building the capacity of
supporters to recognise and challenge racism. The following quotes from annual evaluations illustrate this
foundational achievement.
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Australian Human Rights Commission
Annual Report 2020–2021