A survey conducted recently has revealed that 75 per cent of the elderly citizens in the city are facing abuse. HelpAge India conducted the survey in 12 cities of which six are tier-one cities and six others are tier-two cities with a sample size of 1,200. The report of the survey was released here on Friday, two days ahead of the World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on June 15. Overall, the survey revealed that 50 per cent of elders are being abused. This is a sharp increase from last year’s report which put the figure at 23 per cent.
The survey also revealed that verbal abuse, disrespect and neglect continue to be the major types of abuse.
A majority of abusers are from within the family. Daughter-in-law, son-in-law and daughter are among the top perpetrators of the crime. According to the victims, economic and emotional dependence on the abuser, and the changing ethos are the primary causes of the crime.
Among the tier-one cities surveyed, Delhi reported the lowest elder abuse with only 22 per cent of them reporting abuse.
Among the tier-two cities, Kanpur reported the lowest abuse with 13 per cent of elders complaining that they were being abused.
And in Nagpur, 85 per cent of the elders who were questioned said that they were facing abuse. Analysis of the findings also revealed that even though 64 per cent of the victims were aware of the police helpline, only 12 per cent of them approached them. Most of the abused elders preferred approaching relatives or friends for help.
The findings of the survey reveal that 38 per cent of the elderly are abused once a week, 33 per cent once a month, 5 per cent once in a few months and 23 per cent of those questioned reported that they were being abused “very rarely”.
City Police Commissioner Raghavendra H. Auradkar, who released the report, said elders rarely report that they are being abused as they do not want to sever ties with their family members. He said the Police Department is planning to start an elders’ helpline.
Ramanan K.S., a senior citizen from Padamanabnagar, opines security should be stepped up for the safety of the elderly.
