Against a backdrop of surging reports of mistreatment against older people and growing numbers of seniors visiting its headquarters seeking direct support, the Barbados Association of Retired Persons (BARP) is moving to establish a standardized, formal framework for handling elder abuse cases across the island nation. The announcement came Thursday as BARP held its annual general meeting at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, where association president Marilyn Rice-Bowen shared that the organization is in the final phases of developing a structured reporting system designed to deliver more consistent, coordinated responses to elder abuse complaints brought forward by members.
Rice-Bowen told meeting attendees that incidents of elder abuse have grown increasingly frequent in recent months, marking a notable shift from past patterns of engagement. Where seniors previously reached out to BARP primarily via phone or email to raise concerns, growing numbers of vulnerable older adults are now traveling to the association’s offices in person to ask for direct intervention with their cases of mistreatment. “One of our most important initiatives will be the introduction of a formal reporting protocol for elder abuse,” Rice-Bowen said in her address to the gathering.
Under the current ad-hoc process, BARP staff document reports shared by visiting seniors and pass along details to the Family Conflict Unit, a specialized division within the Barbados Police Service, for official follow-up. The new system will build on this existing relationship by adding structure and accountability to the process. Once fully implemented, BARP personnel will complete a standardized reporting form for every abuse case brought to the organization, which will then be sent directly to the police unit for official investigation. Unlike the previous process, BARP will also maintain active oversight of each open case, tracking progress and following up with both authorities and the affected seniors to ensure cases are resolved appropriately.
“We’re in the process of having a reporting form designed. That form will be completed at BARP and forwarded to the Family Conflict Unit of the Barbados Police Service, and of course, then we will be able to follow up to see what’s happening,” Rice-Bowen explained. She framed the new protocol as a far more robust and proactive approach to combating the growing problem of elder abuse, noting that BARP stands ready to take a leading role in protecting older Barbadians if called upon.
“From BARP’s perspective… it is a more serious approach to elder abuse,” she said. “Every senior deserves to live in safety, dignity and respect.” The new initiative follows public comments Rice-Bowen made one month prior, when she characterized elder abuse as a silent crisis unfolding across Barbados. At that time, she warned that the island was facing a expanding but underreported pattern of abuse, including deliberate targeting of socially isolated older adults for financial exploitation, and called on national stakeholders to implement stronger protective measures for the country’s aging population.