Friday, November 23, 2018

A new book on European Elder Law: "Ageing, Ageism, and the Law"

Until not many years ago, the field of law and aging was relatively neglected within European jurisprudence. 
This has changed dramatically in recent years.
However, much was left to be studied, at least in the field of ageism and European law.
A new and recent book in the field, edited by Prof. Israel Issi Doron, and Nena Georgantzi, presents a collection of articles in the field. The book was published by EE - Edward Elgar.
Here is a synopsis of the book:

Europe is ageing. However, in many European countries, and in almost all fields of life, older persons experience discrimination, social exclusion, and negative stereotypes that portray them as different or a burden to society. This pivotal book is the first of its kind, providing a rich and diverse analysis of the inter-relationships between ageing, ageism and law within Europe.

Throughout the book – which builds on a European Cooperation in Science & Technology (COST) action – leading scholars offer theoretical and empirical analysis in order to discern the role European law plays in perpetuating and combating ageism. Including specific examples of how stereotypes and prejudices influence and shape the European legal system, the book contributes to the broader current global social movement towards advancing a new international human rights convention for older persons.

Timely and engaging, this book will appeal to students and scholars of law, sociology, public policy and a wide range of related fields including gerontology, human rights, and health studies. Practitioners, policy-makers, civil society organizations and senior citizens activists will also benefit from the insights into the socio-legal aspects of social policies and human rights of older persons.




Monday, November 12, 2018

WHO - World Health Organization and the Combat on Ageism

There is a clear link between the human rights of older persons (or lack / infringements of these rights) and ageism - the social construction of old age.
In recent years there has been a growing awareness for the need to combat ageism as part of the battle to promote the human rights of older persons and their social status across cultures and countries.
One of the key players on the global level in this field is WHO - the World Health Organization.
In its web-site one can find wealth of information, data, and empowering kits to work "on the ground" to address not only ageism, but also self-ageism, which is the internalization of negative attitudes by older persons as part of self adoption of social expectations.
See the WHO web-site and the wealth of its materials: