World Elder Abuse Awareness Day: 'I went to interview an older woman but she'd been killed for her land.' | Blogs | HelpAge International
Friday, 13 June 2014
MEDIA RELEASE
Beaten in body, mind and spirit
Elder Abuse rate spikes up
to 50%, more than double from last year
reveals HelpAge India’s
report marking ‘World Elder Abuse Awareness Day’
New Delhi, Friday, June 13, 2014.
Today, just two
days before “World Elder Abuse Awareness
Day (June 15)” HelpAge India releases its report on Elder Abuse in India (2014) revealing an alarming growth of Elder
Abuse in our nation.
Shooting to a
disturbing 50% of elders experiencing abuse, from last year’s 23%, the report
findings indicates an unsettling future for India’s elderly. Women seemed to be
more vulnerable with 52% women facing abuse as against 48% men.
The HelpAge research report pans 12 cities across 8
states, with a sample size of 1200 elders covering both Metro (Tier I) and
Non-Metro (Tier II) cities. It aims to find out the existence of Elder Abuse, the
reasons for its occurrence, its extent and what as per elderly were the most
effective measures to deal with the problem.
What was most
disconcerting, was that the Abuser was a
trusted source from within the elders family, with the Daughter-in-law (61%) and Son (59%)
emerging as the topmost perpetrators. A
trend that is continuing from the previous years. Not surprisingly, 77% of
those surveyed, live with their families. An
unsuspecting entry amongst the top 3 Abusers is now the Daughter as well.
Though the national
capital, Delhi, ranked the lowest in
Elder Abuse with 22% amongst Tier I cities, it also indicated a marginal
increase of the same from 20% last year, showing a slow but disturbing growth. Bengaluru ranked the highest at 75%
within the Tier I cities surveyed, while in the Tier II cities Kanpur was the
lowest (13%) and Nagpur highest at 85%.
Verbal Abuse (41%), Disrespect (33%) and Neglect (29%) were ranked as the most
common Types of Abuse experienced by the elderly.
While abuse has
gone up, unfortunately still 41% of those abused, did Not report the matter to
anyone. “Maintaining confidentiality of the family
matter” was cited to be the major reason behind not reporting abuse (59%).
“It is a subject often pushed under the
carpet. Most elders become silent sufferers and don’t talk about it as it
becomes a matter of family honour for them. Since many live with their abusers,
making a complaint only worsens matters as per them, due to fear of
retaliation. The problem needs to be dealt with at its root. The degeneration
of our value system has heightened this problem. Children are turning abusers.
There is a dire need to sensitize them, starting young. HelpAge has started a
unique HUG campaign which stands for Help Unite Generations, aiming to do just
that” – says Mathew Cherian, Chief
Executive Officer, HelpAge India.
HelpAge India’s Elder Helpline number is 1800-180-1253 (toll free), addresses cases of abuse and neglect and provides legal
advice to victims who wish to take a legal recourse.
The report
revealed that though 64% of the victims were aware of the Police helpline, also
the most popular redressal mechanism amongst elders, only 12% approached them.
Most preferred approaching a relative (53%) or friends (42%).
An interesting
observation about the Reasons for Not Reporting abuse is that in Metro cities
there is marked ‘lack of confidence in
the any person or agency to deal with the problem’ and also there seems to
be a general feeling of they “did not
know how to deal with the abuse”. However “Fear of retaliation” appears in 3 out of 6 Tier II cities.
Interestingly,
the top 3 Reasons for abuse were: Emotional
dependence of the victim on the Abuser (46%), Economic dependence of the victim (45%) and Economic dependence of the Abuser (30%) on the victim.
While 17% of
those abused, face it daily, 35% face it at least once a week. Elders who faced
abuse ‘almost daily’ in Tier I cities, was highest in Hyderabad (42%) and
lowest in Mumbai (26%), while those in
Tier II cities was highest in Guwahati (71%).
Dark Stories from
the field
“At my son’s place, I am given just two
chapattis in a day” - says Mansi Devi (name
changed) a 60 year old widow residing in Delhi’s Uttam Nagar. Illiterate and with no income of her own, she
is heart broken by the fact that the neglect starts with the denial of her
basic daily food. Often, Mansi is tempted to leave everything behind and just
run away. However, it is her concern for her handicapped daughter and love for
her granddaughters that keeps her back.
“My own Nephews beat me so brutally, that I couldn’t move out of bed for
7 days” – says Gautam Das (name changed), a well-educated 62 year
old Commerce graduate & resident of Selimpur, Kolkata who currently works as an accountant with an NGO. He has a fixed steady income, lives in a
joint family with his wife, son and families of his two brothers. Life seemed
idyllic till his newly married niece committed suicide. Das was blamed for
having supported his niece’s decision to marry the man of her choice. From that
day on, his brother and wife started blaming him as the main cause for their
daughter’s death and his nephew with his friends took to beating him up. Das however suspects that the real reason is
that they would like him to leave the ancestral home for the nephew to be able
to hand it over to a promoter for developing the property.
“I don’t receive a word of love or
affection” – says Dayavati (name changed), a 72 year old widow from the Kachiguda locality of Hyderabad, living with her son and
daughter-in-law and their children. She longs for a word of love, a gesture of
care; but all she gets in return are rebukes by her daughter-in-law and a son
who doubts her.
“Our
financial dependence on our son and daughter-in-law has turned us into their
servants” - says
a pained Ramanna (name changed) 68 years old from Bengaluru. Once a flower seller with his own income, advancing
years forced him to give up his occupation and move in with his son and
daughter-in-law. What followed has been years of abuse at their hands.
“My youngest son abuses me – he snatches
the money I keep in my bag” – says Malika (name changed) a 61 year old widow, from Guwahati, is abused by her youngest
son for money. An unemployed youth and an alcoholic, he is dependent on his
mother for his expenses. When denied money, he shouts and abuses her.
About HelpAge India: HelpAge India
is a leading charitable organization working with and for older people in India
for the past 36 years. It runs age care programmes throughout the country &
advocates strongly for the cause of the elderly and fights for their rights. It
also advises & facilitates the Government in formation of policy related to
the elderly.
For Info rmation contact: Sonali
Sharma - +91 9810676562 / Vaishnavi Jain - +91 9810683083
Tweet to Us at: @HelpAgeIndia_https://twitter.com/HelpAgeIndia_
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