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ShareKOLKATA: In Defence Colony, Delhi, an old lady suffering from arthritis was forced by her son to move to the second floor to sell off the other floors to a local builder and move out. The lady died soon after.
In Shibpur, near Kolkata, a 90-year-old woman was surviving on charity, along with her 70-year-old daughter. The son did not support them on the excuse that he did not have a job. Recently, the daughter died and the woman was forcibly put up at a drug rehabilitation clinic. Finally, the son agreed to take his mother back.
These two tales of woe could well be representative of India, where elder abuse is on the rise. There are 70 million 60-plus elderly in India and the number is expected to touch 177 million by 2025.
Elder abuse is a closeted and complex phenomenon. There is a lack of research as most victims are frightened and unwilling to speak out. But a HelpAge India study reveals some disturbing truths, significant on June 15th, instituted as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day last year by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (INPEA).
According to HelpAge India, most elders are ill-treated by their own children, who have emerged as the largest group of perpetrators at 47.3 per cent. Spouses follow next at 19.3 per cent. Other relatives and grandchildren follow at 8.8 per cent and 8.6 per cent respectively.
Neglect is the most common form of abuse at 48.7 per cent followed by emotional/psychological, financial exploitation physical abuse and abandonment respectively.
However, only one in six cases gets reported. The United Nations International Plan of Action, adopted by all countries during the Madrid signatory in April 2002, clearly recognises the importance of addressing and preventing abuse and neglect of older adults and puts it within the framework of the Universal Human Rights.
MM Sabharwal, president emeritus, HelpAge, told DNA, "Many elders are quietly suffering indignity at the hands of those who they taught to say their first words and take their first steps. It is shocking that the largest perpetrators of elder abuse are their own children."
But Ruchira Goswami, lecturer at National University of Juridical Sciences says, "There is still no law in India specific to combating elderly abuse. Senior citizens can only move court from the maintenance angle. But how many parents would like to do so since the judgment would invariably go against their children?"
