Disrespect, neglect and verbal abuse have been ranked as the most common types of abuse experienced by the elderly in the Capital, with the female population bearing the brunt of the ill-treatment. Surprisingly, there is an emerging trend of daughters also turning abuser.
This disturbing data has been released in a report on Elder Abuse (2014) conducted, complied and released by non-government organsation HelpAge India here on Friday.
The research found that abuse of the elderly was on the rise and that daughter-in-laws emerged as the topmost perpetrators.
“The increase in abuse by both daughter-in-law and son has nearly doubled from last year from 30 per cent to 64 per cent in the case of the daughter-in-law and 23 per cent to 43 per cent in the case of son. Not surprisingly 90 per cent of those surveyed live with their families,’’ noted the research.
HelpAge India has been carrying out the research for the last three years to highlight the growing concern about the well-being of the elderly in the family, which traditionally has played the role of protection and care giving.
This year, the survey was conducted in 12 cities: six tier-I and six-tier II cities. There has been a marked increase in the percentage of elders who reported experiencing abuse from 23 per cent in the previous year to 50 per cent. There is a minor difference of 4 per cent between tier-I and tier-II cities. Within tier-II cities, Nagpur reported the highest incidence of abuse against the elderly at 85 per cent as against 75 per cent in Bengaluru within tier-I cities.
“Economic and emotional dependence of the victim on the abuser has been cited as the major reasons for abuse. Economic dependence of the abuser on the victim is also cited as a major reason for the ill-treatment of the elderly. One in five elderly is unaware of any currently available redress mechanisms. While majority of victims are aware of the police helplines, a miniscule minority approach them,’’ noted the research.
Today, there are 100 million elderly in India. This figure is likely to increase to 324 million, constituting 20 per cent of the population by 2050.
