Indian elders suffer abuse, neglect
That elder in India no longer receive care and respect
within families and outside has been long established. But many of them
silently suffer abuse at the hands of their sons comes as a huge shock. It
undermines, if anything, the myth of ‘Shravan Kumar’.
According to a survey by HelpAge India, released on the
eve of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, about 56 percent of India’s sons
indulge in elderly abuse as compared to 23 percent of daughter-in-laws. At the
national level, 31 percent of older persons reported facing abuse. Madhya
Pradesh with 77.12 percent reported the highest incidences of elder abuse
followed by Assam and Uttar Pradesh at 60.55 and at 52.00 percent respectively.
The survey was carried out in 20 cities across India and interviewed 5600
persons of old age.
Among Indian cities, elders face maximum abuse in Bhopal
(77.12 percent) followed by Guwahati (60.55 percent) and Lucknow (52 percent).
The National Capital Region has reported 29.82 percent elderly abuse, a sharp
increase in from last year’s 12 percent. Mumbai is not far behind with 29.46
percent. Jaipur with just 1.67 percent turned out to be the safest city for
elders.
Most cases of abuse are never reported because of
emotional considerations. Explaining the psychology of elders, a spokesperson
at HelpAge India, said, “Elder abuse is a subjective thing. The problem lies in
the family and the solution also lies in the family. The issue is actually very
delicate. Even though the elders are getting abused by their own near and dear
ones, they can’t afford the courage to go and report as they feel it would hurt
their own near and dear ones and above all they have to finally live with that
same person.”
Himanshu Rath, founder of Agewell Foundation, another NGO
working for the elderly people, said, “The primary reason behind the elder
abuse is unawareness and non-preparedness. Most of the present day old people
have not seen their own parents living up to that age, therefore they do not
have any idea as to how to live in that age.”
In fact, the most unfortunate part of the report is that
even literate people couldn’t escape from abuse at the hands of their
progenies. About 20 percent of those who had experienced abuse were graduates,
19 percent had education up to primary level and 16 percent were illiterates.
A fast-paced urban life has further enhanced their
neglect and woes. “The individual is not prepared for that age so the family
members and the peer group are also not prepared. Also due to growing fast
life, people do not have time to care for others,” added Rath at Agewell
Foundation.
Highlighting the need for psychological care and support,
Dr. Samir Parikh, director mental health and behavioral sciences at Fortis
Healthcare said , “Elderly population not only requires physical and financial
support , they also require emotional support. Abuse of neglect generally
happens from near and dear ones and it has a great impact on the mental health
of the elderly population. It leads to depression among them.”
Disrespect, neglect and verbal abuse, are the most
appropriate parameters that define elder abuse. Disrespect was shown as the
most prevalent type of elder abuse in the society followed by neglect and
verbal abuse. 44 percent respondents identified disrespect as the most common
form of abuse, 30 percent identified neglect as the second most common form and
26 percent identified verbal abuse.
“Many people neglect the elderly without even realising
it. Sometimes it so happens that the person does not deliberately means to hurt
the elderly but somehow the situation so arises that they do get hurt and the
elderly person feels that the person showed him disrespect,” added the resource
person at Help Age India.
Highlighting the importance of sensitization, Dr. Parikh
at Fortis Health Care, stressed, “It is extremely important for the younger
generation to take care of the elderly population as it would help to increase
the emotional distance between the young and the old.”
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