About 71 per cent of youth in the city accept that abuse of elderly citizens exists while 33 per cent admit that it happens within the confines of their homes, according to the findings of a nationwide survey.
In spite of acknowledging the problem, 45 per cent of the respondents from twin cities have shared that they are unwilling to act on incidents or problems related to elderly abuse. This result is encouraging in a way when compared to Delhi where 92 per cent of the youngsters refused to intervene.
As against the national average of 53.2 per cent, about 76 per cent of the youth from the city cited property and inheritance disputes as major reasons for senior family members abuse.
The youth perception and elders reality seems to be more or less same when it comes to who the abuser is. Twenty four per cent of the youth perceive the son as an abuser and 34.7 per cent think daughter-in-law is the primary abuser. As per the 2014 survey, the experiences of elders makes the daughter-in-law the primary abuser.
Across all cities, 86.9 per cent of youth suggest living in joint families as a measure to prevent elder abuse.
When it comes to witnessing abuse, 25 per cent of Bengaluru youth admitted to have seen elders being abused in some way. The survey report titled ‘Elder Abuse-The Indian Youth Speaks Out’ was brought out by HelpAge India, a noted NGO, on the occasion of ‘World Elder Abuse Awareness Day’. The report was released on Monday by Telangana Deputy Chief Minister, Mohd. Mahmood Ali.
“The increasing trend of humiliation and abuse of elderly persons is not good for the society. This report reflects the worrying situation. The youngsters have accepted that abuse of senior citizens exists but many of them do not want to help. This is alarming,” said Raza Mohammed, acting State head of Telangana and AP, HelpAge India. Apart from Hyderabad, the survey was undertaken in nine other cities including Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Kanpur, and Madurai. A sample size of 200 households was selected from 20 middle and upper middle class localities in each city. For the survey, respondents chosen were young working adults between the ages of 25 years and 45 years and living with at least one elderly parent.
