|
|
|
|
||
|
||
|
|
||
| SEARCH | SUBSCRIBE | ||
Want to support Global Action on Aging? Click below: Thanks!
|
 |
Hidden
Abuse of Elderly Emerging Problem for Japan
By Shane Green
June 21, 2003 Tokyo
- Authorities have commissioned Japan's first survey on the abuse of the
elderly, amid growing evidence that a culture that reveres the aged may
also be allowing them to be seriously mistreated. The
national survey will focus on abuse of the elderly in the home in all its
forms, including physical, mental, sexual and economic. It is a problem
that has been largely hidden, partly because of the shame it brings on
families. The
findings would let the Government decide if it should establish an
"appropriate system of intervention", a Health Ministry official
said. The
issue of care for the elderly is critical given the greying of Japanese
society, with the birth rate the lowest since records were first kept in
1899. Figures
released this month show that the number of Japanese aged 75 or over is 10
million, out of a population of about 127 million. The portion of the
population aged 65 or over is now 18.5 per cent - compared with 7 per cent
in 1970 - and is forecast to increase rapidly. For
Japan, abuse of the elderly is a particularly confronting issue.
Traditionally, the family of the eldest son cared for an ageing parent.
But the stresses of modern life - compounded by a 13-year economic slump -
appear to be contributing to a growing number of abuse cases. This
week's issue of the magazine Shinco carried several examples of
abuse of the elderly. In
one case, a public servant quit his job to care for his mother in her 80s
and adapted his home to meet her needs, including the installation of a
lift. But
without support from other family members, the strain took its toll on the
man, who began abusing his mother, giving her water only once a day. In
the case of a woman in her mid-80s, the abuse began when her son died,
leaving the care to her daughter-in-law, who refused to let the woman take
a bath, and escalated the abuse when the woman became too weak to walk.
Then the daughter-in-law refused to feed the woman. "She
is going to die quickly if I don't feed her," the daughter-in-law
said. Neighbours
intervened to feed the woman, but the abuse continued, with the
daughter-in-law taking the woman's bank book. The woman died last year. Other
cases reported by the media include an 80-year-old woman beaten by her son
and tied to furniture. A
survey last year also uncovered examples of abuse of the elderly in homes
and nursing homes, including punching, kicking and neglect. Some
people said they abused their parents because they had been abused when
children, the Kyodo news agency reported. Japanese
courts are also dealing with cases where a carer has resorted to murder. In
February, an 82-year-old man strangled his 83-year-old wife, saying he
could not cope with her senility. The
Government has a nursing care insurance scheme for the elderly. About 1.86
million elderly are being cared for at home - about twice as many as in
nursing homes. Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging |
