According to the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI), condition of elderly in India including the prevalence of elder abuse was greater in Bihar (12%), Karnataka (10%), West Bengal (8%), Uttar Pradesh (6%), and Chhattisgarh (6%).
77.3 percent of the elderly who felt mistreated reported verbal/emotional abuse, which can affect their self-esteem or emotional well-being. Physical abuse, which happens when a senior is harmed as a consequence of beating, kicking, pushing, slapping, burning, or other displays of force and brutality, was experienced by nearly one-fifth (23.7). Economic exploitation, defined as the misuse of an aged person’s money, property, and assets, was experienced by nearly a quarter (26.5%). It also mentions how more than half of the elderly population (52.6%) are ignored.
Elder Abuse Awareness Day 2023
Elder Abuse Awareness Day 2023 is celebrated every year on the 15th of June. Based on the latest statistics by the UN, the number of older people worldwide is expected to increase to more than double over the next three decades, reaching more than 1.5 billion people in 2050, with 80% of them residing in low- and middle-income countries. According to findings from a poll of 83,034 persons in 57 countries, one out of every two people had moderately or strongly ageist views.
The theme for World Elder Abuse Awareness Day 2023 is “Closing the Circle: Addressing Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Older Age Policy, Law and Evidence-based Responses”.
Who established Elder Abuse Awareness Day and When?
Every year on June 15, World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is observed. This day was founded in 2006 by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the World Health Organisation to raise awareness of and take action against elder abuse.
What is Elder Abuse?
Elder abuse is defined as any purposeful act or failure to act that causes or increases the risk of damage to an elderly person. Someone over the age of 60 is considered an elderly adult. Abuse happens at the hands of a carer or someone the elder trusts.
Types of Elder Abuse
There are 7 main types of Elder Abuse:
➡ Physical Abuse: This is the intentional use of force that causes pain, injury, or impairment to an older adult. It can include hitting, slapping, kicking, pushing, shoving, burning, or restraining.
➡ Sexual Abuse: This is any unwanted sexual contact or behavior with an older adult. It can include rape, sexual assault, fondling, or exposure to pornography.
➡ Emotional or Psychological Abuse: This is the use of words or actions to control, isolate, or frighten an older adult. It can include name-calling, insults, threats, intimidation, isolation, or withholding love or affection.
➡ Neglect: This is the failure to provide an older adult with the care they need, such as food, water, clothing, shelter, medical care, or emotional support. It can also include leaving an older adult alone without supervision or care.
➡ Abandonment: This is the desertion of an older adult by a caregiver or other responsible person. It can include leaving an older adult alone without care or support, or forcing them to leave their home.
➡ Financial or Material Exploitation: This is the illegal or improper use of an older adult’s money, property, or assets. It can include forgery, fraud, identity theft, coercion, or pressure to change a will or other legal documents.
➡ Self Neglect: This is when an older adult does not provide for their own basic needs, such as food, water, clothing, shelter, medical care, or hygiene. It can be caused by physical or mental health problems, cognitive decline, or social isolation.
According to the UN, “elder abuse occurs in many parts of the world with little recognition or response.” Until recently, this major socio-economic problem was mostly kept from public view and treated as a private concern. Even now, elder abuse remains a taboo, widely underestimated and overlooked by communities worldwide. However, evidence is mounting that elder abuse is a significant public health and socioeconomic issue.
Elderly Home in India
There are so many incidents and cases of elder abuse faced by the residents of the beneficiaries of the various functioning NGOs in the country, to name one is a Delhi based NGO: Wishes and Blessings.
Being a programme manager at the NGO’s old age home Mann Ka Tilak, I vividly remember one incident when one of our Ammas who had been a member of the home returned to visit her daughter for a family function. There, she was joined by her immediate and extended family members as well.
All of a sudden, when her biological son, for no apparent reason shoved his shoe into his mother’s mouth. He started manhandling and verbally assaulting her. What was even more disturbing was the fact that nobody intervened to calm the situation down, let alone speak up for the poor lady. Most preferred not to jeopardize themselves by getting into such a situation, many assumed that what was transpiring before their very eyes was their business and not theirs as they could get nothing out of it.
Later when she returned back to the old age home, her daughter dumped her at the gate and left. The poor lady came in sobbing and bawling her eyes out. We attempted to pacify her by assuring and reminding her that everything was going to be okay. We gave her a glass of water, after which she narrated the incident. We were dumbfounded and heartbroken. She felt deeply saddened and continued crying. She begged us to not ever let her return there again, and that she would never return back to that place and people she once called her home and family.
Most elderly are unaware of their existing rights. Below, a mention of some important rights are given:
➡ The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior persons Act, 2007, was enacted by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment of the Government of India in order to make more effective provisions for the maintenance and welfare of parents and senior persons.
➡ The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens (Amendment) Bill, 2019, provides for one Nodal Officer for senior citizens in each Police Station and a Special Police Unit for elderly persons in each district to combat crime against elderly persons.
Caring for the elderly is undeniably one of our most significant duties. The individuals who have traversed the path of life before us have bestowed upon us immeasurable wisdom and contributed greatly to the lives we cherish today.
Let us do our best to nurture them in the final years of their lives keeping in mind that we too, will reach where they are someday and to do unto others what we would want for ourselves. If you have it in your heart to reach out to these elderly people, to get in touch with us and we can help you sow a good deed. No help is ever too small. You have the power to make a change!
About the Author
Rashmi is the Programme Manager at the Wishes and Blessings’ old age home-Mann Ka Tilak. She has a profound knowledge of the problems the elderly people face, thanks to her academic achievements, which include a post-graduate diploma in geriatrics and a master’s degree in social work.