Hyderabad: Fifty per cent of senior citizens suffer abuse silently as they don’t want the family name and image to be tarnished, stated experts ahead of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, on June 15.
There are 90 million senior citizens in India, according to the 2011 Census and their population is expected to cross 173 million by 2025. Most of the abuse they undergo is for family property wherein the children insist that it must be given to them immediately.
Dr P. Vyasamoorthy, who runs a forum for senior citizens, said, “Financial abuse is the highest. All the siblings get together and insist that the money must be divided while the father and mother are alive. They are not willing to wait and often when the parents don’t agree, the verbal abuse starts; and still if they don’t yield then the physical abuse begins.”
In the case of single parents, it is found to be much higher as their ability to cope suffers. Often women from divergent backgrounds find themselves in a spot and if they are not properly provided for, they are often abandoned. The problem is rampant in all classes of society.
Mr P. Raghu Rao, a senior citizen, said, “The problem is that whenever there is abuse, the seniors are not ready to speak. Most often they try to fight it out themselves, which often does not work. There is too much pressure from the family with regards to finances and the more one has, the more is the burden to distribute.”
Dr Srinivas Rao, another senior citizen and a practising diabetologist, said, “Children are confident that their parents will never shame them in society. For this reason, there is hardly any discussion even within the family. It is only when it reaches a point where the person goes into depression or his medical condition is aggravated that other family members come to know. Often, cases of sudden death of elderly are due to the constant fights, arguments and taunts by their children. When such incidents occur, family, relatives and friends talk but there is hardly any action taken.”
Experts insist that it is very important that awareness must be raised among senior citizens and they must be encouraged to speak and fight. Also, once society opens up, the level of abuse will reduce.
