Highland Council supports TV campaign to protect vulnerable adults

The Highland Council is one of twenty four Scottish councils which are teaming up to talk to nearly four million Scots later this month about protecting vulnerable adults.

The councils have pooled their resources for what is thought to be the first national TV advertising campaign jointly funded by local authorities.

Launching on 22 August, the campaign aims to offer hope to thousands of Scottish adults who suffer verbal, physical, sexual and financial abuse every day, often at the hands of their own families.

It focuses on the issues of the financial abuse of the elderly, the day to day abuse suffered by adults with learning disabilities and how long term alcohol abuse can affect a person’s ability to look after themselves.

In addition to The Highland Council, the local authorities involved are: Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll & Bute, Dundee, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, Falkirk, Fife, Glasgow, Inverclyde, Midlothian, Moray, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Perth & Kinross, Renfrewshire, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, Stirling and West Dunbartonshire.

Highland Adult Support and Protection Committee Chair Ian Gibson said: “Everyone recognises that children are vulnerable and need to be protected but many of us don’t realise that, sometimes, adults need protecting too. For most of us being an adult is about being able to look after yourself but people can become frail, they can get dementia, they can suffer from mental illness and alcohol or drugs can take their toll. Unfortunately, there is often someone who is willing to take advantage of people when they become vulnerable.

“This campaign is about raising awareness about the issues some adults face from physical injury to insidious exploitation. It is about urging people to take action and change a life, possibly even their own.”

Councillor Bet McAllister, Highland Council’s Political Champion for Older People and Vulnerable Adults said: “There are many adults who are just as vulnerable as children. The abuse that often goes quietly unremarked against adults would cause an outcry if it were done to children. It is an issue that we must make people aware of and that we must encourage them to report.”

The advert promotes a free hotline number (0300 777 6520) and website (www.adultprotection.tv) which people can use to get help or to report concerns about friends, relatives or neighbours.

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