Despite respect for the elderly, many seniors face abuse from family members. This hidden crisis demands urgent action to protect their dignity and wellbeing
The culture in India over the past few decades has significantly transformed. As the 21st century unfolded with developments and advancements in science, technology, communication etc. the values upon which cohesion and amicable environment at family to global level can be built have been hit hard. The world has never been wealthier or possessed greater knowledge and technological prowess than it does today but sadly, inequality, poverty, food insecurity, violence, exploitation and discrimination continue to escalate unchecked. Among the victims of exploitation are the elderly population across the globe. And this issue becomes more worrisome for India where the culture of respect and care for the elderly has always existed and was deeply rooted. Given the cultural norms, the value system of filial piety and residence with the children, more often than not the elders in the family seem protected but on closer and deeper investigation, it is not so.
The prevalence of elder abuse and neglect is evolving as a pressing and distressing hidden reality. As the person ages, his or her ability to engage in productive/ remunerative work gradually decreases, further their physical ailments, diseases etc demand care and specific needs to be looked after, this worsens and complicates the problem. As dependency grows and contribution declines, the elders in the family become subject to abuse, isolation, neglect, humiliation and harassment. The increased rate of urbanisation, transborder migration, inflation, technological advancement and the scale and extent of dependency add to the vulnerability of the elderly being exploited and neglected. In most cases, the perpetrators of abuse- physical, psychological, financial and verbal are their children whom they have raised by sacrificing their comforts and basic needs. According to the United Nations policy brief titled The Impact-of-COVID-19-on-Older-Persons (2020), the cases of elder abuse have grown worldwide during and after the pandemic, making it a worrisome issue.
Life expectancy and life longevity have enormously improved, given the advancements in diagnostic, medical and therapeutic science but for the ageing population support services from family, community and the Government are also crucially needed for dignified life and death. In the present-day neo-liberal world order, access to State-of-the-art health and care facilities burns a big hole in the pocket of those wanting to access them. In addition, inflation, job crunch, financial crisis and the burgeoning household budget for education, basic needs, recreational, health care services etc are largely responsible for the elders and their needs being pushed to the periphery. Lack of timely care and preventive measures compounds their problem and vulnerability to the extent of extreme dependency. The State of complete/ partial dependency makes them subject to neglect, harassment and humiliation, abrogating their human rights. With intra and transborder migration of young and productive age groups, the threat to survival, safety and well-being of the ageing population is rising across the globe including India. In the past few decades, the migration from rural to urban areas and from urban to distant lands has been considerably growing, the dearth of resources, harsh living conditions and tough competition faced by the young population a reason although indirect, for elder abuse and in absence of dear ones (son/grandchildren), adjustment to new settings also drains the elder population mentally, financially and emotionally and risks their wellbeing and safety.
Further, as senior citizens are seen as a liability, apart from the conflict over their care and responsibility, the conflict over inheritance and property share also traumatises them. It is estimated that more than 90 per cent of elder abuse cases emerge from property-related matters. Thus physical, verbal, sexual, mental and emotional abuse can occur within these dynamics, causing immense suffering to the elderly. The saddening part about elder abuse is that the perpetrators of violence and hardship against them are their family members, it could be their son/ daughter-in-law/ daughter/ son-in-law/niece/nephew/ grandchildren among other close relatives as a result of the instances of violence either don’t come in the public domain or if at all it comes, it isn’t given attention stating that it is a personal/family matter. Due to a lack of intervention, the concerns of the elderly being abused and harassed most often go unattended and cared for.
In most cases the abuse is subtle and persistent, so is perceived as normalised by victims and is difficult to label as abuse, however, badly harms the victims and their well-being. In some cases, senior citizens suffering from dementia or other cognitive impairments are unable to understand that they are being ill-treated and abused or at times may find it difficult to effectively communicate the reality and seek intervention. The absence of timely and appropriate intervention discourages the victims from reporting their abuse. It is also out of fear of offending the family members/ agonising them that the victims are reluctant to report or discuss the instances of violence and humiliation meted out by them. There is also a stigma around abuse and the concern that society may perceive them to be weak/ incapable and also that it might bring the family in a bad light is a reason that discourages senior citizens from speaking about their vulnerability and abuse. Moreover, the elderly either don’t have awareness about the legal mechanism that they can take recourse to or do not have trust in the system and the law designed to protect them.
As most cases remain unreported, the exact figures associated with violence against elder persons cannot be provided. This however cannot be taken as a reason to escape and deny the grim reality. The issue indeed is important and the laws enacted in the recent past to save the elders from abuse and violence, the growing number of old age homes and the increase in property-related disputes where the elders in the family are either as plaintiff or the defendant are a testimony. Globally, a very good proportion of the population is growing older, India mirrors this trend too. According to the United Nations Population Fund’s India Ageing Report 2023, the population above 60 years will double from 10.5 per cent or 14.9 crore (as of July 2022) to 20.8 per cent or 34.7 crore by 2050. There is a dire need to understand that this population is neither small nor are their issues insignificant that can be ignored.
It is important to understand that the elderly population which isn’t engaged in productive work were once the ones who shouldered responsibilities and looked after the needs of the children. They had been once a very potential workforce in nation-building. They are a reservoir of knowledge and experience and should be valued for their sacrifices, pains and contributions made during their lifetime. As reasons are multiple behind elder abuse so are the ramifications, it is therefore important to have solutions at different levels ranging from sensitising the society at large to spreading awareness among elders, formulating policies, emboldening social security measures to robust monitoring and judicial mechanism to deal with the perpetrators of violence. Concrete measures need to be taken so that elder abuse, albeit hidden, is not perceived as normalised.
(The writer is Assistant Professor, Political Science ,Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce, University of Delhi; views are personal)
