The Barbados Association of Retired Persons (BARP) is set to introduce a formal reporting protocol for elder abuse, a move intended to create a more structured approach to protecting the island’s seniors.

The announcement was made at the opening session of BARP’s annual general meeting at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre on Thursday evening.

President Marilyn Rice-Bowen said BARP had for years fielded reports of elder abuse informally, through emails, phone calls and members visiting the office directly. Under the new system, a dedicated form will be completed at BARP’s offices and forwarded to the Family Conflict Unit of the Barbados Police Service for follow-up.