The Union Cabinet’s recent decision to approve a new law -- the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Bill 2007 aimed at helping the elderly live in dignity and peace -- is a welcome move towards the protection and care of India’s 77 million elderly citizens.
The past five years have been a living nightmare for Raghu Sharma, 78, a retired schoolteacher. The septuagenarian was thrown out of his Delhi flat by his two sons after they forcibly took possession of it by forging Sharma’s signature on his will! Poor Sharma isn’t sure what hurts him most -- the fact that he was cheated out of a house bought from his life savings, the fact that he now lives in a dilapidated barsati, or the fact that his own sons betrayed him most unconscionably.
Widowed Rajshree Bhatia, 69, a Mumbai resident, survives on the frugal pension of her late husband, a government clerk. When she refused to give her valuables and life savings to her three children, they tried to set her on fire by dousing her with kerosene! Fortunately, she was saved by her neighbours who now not only feed and clothe her but also support her decision to sue her children for mistreatment.
Even as yet another World Elder Abuse Awareness Day passed us by last month (June 15) -- with khadi-clad politicians and platitude-spewing social workers clambering onto podiums to lecture us on how we need to take care of our elderly -- the fact remains that a substantive percentage of India’s whopping 77 million elderly continue to live an existence of insecurity, injustice and abuse. This is all the more disconcerting considering that India’s grey population (senior citizens above 60 years) will ratchet up to 177 million in 25 years. Of this, women will constitute 51%, thanks to a spurt in life expectancy.
The International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (INPEA, founded in 1997), a body dedicated to global dissemination of information on the prevention of elder abuse, designated June 15, 2006, as the first World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. The day, supported by the United Nations and the World Health Organisation, aims to raise awareness about elder abuse and how it can be prevented. Broadly, INPEA defines elder abuse as “…neglect, violation of human, legal and medical rights, and deprivation of the elderly”.
Many pan-India surveys reveal that almost 30% of India’s elderly are subject to some form of abuse or neglect by their families. Ironically, in spite of this, only one in six of the abused elderly report the injustice. Shockingly, 47.3% of abuse against elders is committed by adult caregivers, partners or family members, while 48.7% of all abuse cases imply neglect of an elderly person, abandonment, physical, financial or emotional abuse. Nine out of 10 calls received by Mumbai’s Dignity Foundation pertain to property-related abuse. HelpAge’s Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai helplines report a similar trend.
Social scientists attribute many reasons to this upward spiral in injustice against senior citizens. “Such cases reflect a rapidly altering social landscape where family bonds are weakening and elders are being marginalised,” says sociologist Dr Aruna Khatri. Another reason for this social menace, Khatri points out, is that a growing number of middle class children are moving out of their parental homes to live independently or go overseas to seek better work opportunities. “Changing family dynamics have left many elderly people feeling lonely and more vulnerable to crime,” says Khatri.
According to Shalini Dewan, Director, United Nations Information Centre, New Delhi, the problem of elder abuse is largely under-recognised although the UN considers it critical. Member countries of the United Nations adopted an International Plan of Action in Madrid in April 2002 to recognise the importance of elder abuse and put it in its framework of universal human rights.
According to a recent all-India INPEA survey, the problems of the elderly can be broadly categorised as economic, health, disability, and social. In Delhi, the survey revealed that the most prevalent health problems among the elderly related to mental handicap, orthopaedic and ophthalmic problems. Loneliness, no source of income, and unemployment were also found to be widespread among Delhi’s elderly. However, in Kolkata, lack of adjustment, no source of income, non-fulfilment of basic needs, alcoholism/drug addiction and chronic illness were the major problems.
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