back
Want
to support Global Action on Aging?
Click
below:
Thanks!
|
 |
|
Violence
Against Elderly Growing
By Nitin Bahugana
Oherald N, August 24, 2003
|
UNTIL
recently, Urmila Basu (78) lived in south Delhi’s affluent Greater
Kailash area. Widowed some years ago, she had to move out of her own home
last year into the Air Force’s Old Age Home in Tughlakabad (also in
south Delhi) because she felt insecure. Basu recounts how, when her
husband was still alive, masked gunmen broke into their home and split his
skull open. She ran outside, screaming for help, but no one heeded her
cries. Following her husband’s death, Basu felt she had become a soft
target for criminals and needed to move to somewhere safe.
At 82, Bimla Lal Singh was completely dependent on her young male servant
for all her basic needs including cooking, cleaning and shopping. One day,
the man and some of his friends held her at knife-point and demanded all
the cash and valuables in the house. Petrified and too frail to offer any
resistance, Bimla silently handed them over to her “trusted” servant
of three years. The youth and his accomplices disappeared with the loot.
Since then, Bimla has been living alone in fear, too terrified to hire new
domestic help despite her obvious need to do so.
The two cases are chilling examples of the increasing incidence of abuse
and violence against the aged, an ominous trend that is likely to grow
with the rising numbers of rapidly ageing citizens in many countries.
“Every night I go to sleep wondering if I’ll see another day. Every
day I wake to news reports of one more senior citizen killed brutally.
Each time there is a knock on my door, my heart skips a beat. I live each
day in fear.” This is what MN Sethi (65), a retired government servant,
wrote recently in a letter to HelpAge India, a Delhi-based voluntary
organisation working for the care of disadvantaged older people.
According to HelpAge India director-general Major General (retd.) Inderjit
S Dhillon, the organisation has, for the past three years, been conducting
workshops with the Delhi Police to sensitise them to the special needs of
the elderly.
HelpAge has always held that the best place for the elderly is within the
family, says Dhillon. Nowadays, however, the aged are generally on their
own and have, therefore, become easy targets for criminals. Preventive
action by the police has become all the more significant and it is
important that they use available technology for the benefit of the
elderly. It is equally important for the general public to take a more
pro-active role in ensuring security within their own neighbourhoods.
The police commissioner of Delhi, RS Gupta, has exhorted Residents Welfare
Associations to be more alert and responsible in this regard. At a recent
discussion on “Crime against Older Persons” organised in the capital
by HelpAge, Gupta spoke of the various schemes being operated by the
police for the protection of older persons. These include identification
of senior citizens, monitoring of visitors and phone calls received by
them, emphasis on safety measures like neighbourhood distress alarms, the
magic eye and safety chains, and the registration of plumbers and
electricians. According to Gupta, in many areas the beat constable visits
older peoples’ houses regularly to ensure their well-being.
As part of a survey to tighten the security net, the police have so far
registered 3,389 older persons from across Delhi. But according to HelpAge
India, there are nearly one million senior citizens in Delhi, of whom
1,50,000 older couples and individuals live on their own. Statistics
compiled by the NGO disclose that in 2001, a total of 3,351 older people
were killed in the country (2,794 males, 557 females) while 241 (205 male,
36 females) were abducted. Acts of culpable homicide, not amounting to
murder, against elderly people in the same year numbered 275.
The World Health Organisation’s World Report on Violence and Health, the
first comprehensive report of its kind to address violence as a global
public health problem, describes the abuse of the elderly as the hidden
face of violence. And violence against this segment of society is likely
to grow, given the rapidly increasing numbers of a greying population. The
global population of those aged 60 and above was estimated to be 542
million in 1995. According to projections, the number will be an
astounding 1.2 billion in 2025.
Violence against the elderly includes physical, sexual and psychological
abuse as well as neglect, says the report. Elderly people are also
vulnerable to economic abuse with others making unscrupulous use of their
resources. Information on the extent of abuse against the elderly is scant
and the few population-based studies that have been conducted suggest that
about four to six per cent of old people have experienced some form of
abuse at home.
The elderly are also at risk in institutions such as hospitals, nursing
homes and other long-term care facilities. In a survey undertaken in the
USA, 36 per cent of nursing home staff reported having witnessed at least
one incident of physical abuse of an elderly patient in the previous year.
Ten per cent admitted having committed at least one act of physical abuse
themselves and 40 per cent said they had psychologically abused old
patients.
The WHO report cautions that the consequences of abuse of the elderly are
especially serious, because of their fragility. Their bones are more
brittle and injuries take longer to heal. Even a relatively minor injury
can cause serious and permanent damage. The risk factors for such abuse
are aggravated by strained family relationships that could worsen because
of feelings of frustration, as the older person becomes more dependent and
therefore, a greater burden. The report cites social isolation as a
significant reason for an older person being subjected to mistreatment.
Many elderly people are isolated either because of physical or mental
infirmities or through the loss of friends and family members.
A poser levelled by an elderly participant at the recent discussion in
Delhi best sums up the situation. When he asked, could senior citizens
just relax on their own lawns without fearing for their safety? There are
no easy answers, but public education and awareness are powerful
instruments in preventing abuse and neglect of the elderly. The WHO report
says that educational programmes aimed at older people are usually more
successful if the information on abuse is woven into wider topics such as
successful aging or health care.
Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging
Terms of Use | Privacy
Policy | Contact Us
|
