Chennai ranks the lowest among the major cities in the country in the ill-treatment of the elderly. A report released by HelpAge India to mark ‘World Elder Abuse Awareness Day', on Wednesday, has put the figure at two per cent.“Awareness levels among the educated middle class and support systems for the elderly are much stronger in Chennai. Yet, in 90 per cent of the cases, abuse is not reported. The elderly believe the repercussions will be greater if they lodge a complaint,” said Edwin Babu, Joint Director Programs, HelpAge India.
The report ‘Elder Abuse & Crime in India' was released at a function here by Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) P.Thamarai Kannan.
The study covered Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Bhopal, Patna, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad with a sample size of 100 elderly (50 men and 50 women) in each city. On a national level, elder abuse is highest among the 70 plus category and it's mostly elderly women who face abuse due to the dependence on sons.
Nationally, daughters-in-law emerged as the major abuser of the elderly (63.4 per cent) followed by the sons (44 per cent) from the lower socio-economic strata, as against the son (53.6 per cent) last year in the higher socio-economic strata.
In terms of the ill-treatment of the elderly, Bangalore tops the list with “a shocking 44 per cent,” closed followed by Hyderabad (38 per cent), Bhopal (30 per cent) and Kolkata (23 per cent), the study said.
“If everyone takes care of their mother and father that will automatically take care of all elders,” said Mr.Thamarai Kannan. The Elders Helpline (1253), established in 2004, receives around 1,000 calls a year, he said. “Problems of abuse come from sons and daughters. When we try to investigate, however, the elderly request us to drop the case as it is after all their family members,” he said. “In Chennai, as per the study, 22 per cent of the elderly live with their daughters, which is the highest in the country.
The main methods of abuse are verbal and then financial, although, the survey shows that 38 per cent of the elderly in Chennai are engaged in some economic activity,” said Mr.Babu.
At the same function, HelpAge India launched a signature campaign to sensitise people to the issues. Volunteers of HelpAge India were also honoured.
Others who participated in the function were M.Singaraja, Chairperson, Senior Citizens Bureau, S.Muthukumaran, Chairman, Executive Committee, Science City and Indrani Rajadurai, Special Adviser, HelpAge India.
