Solution to Elder abuse through community initiatives

ABOUT 70 per cent of the elderly, who are at the receiving end of abuse from their own children, live in houses owned by them. This is reflective of our consumerist fixation in relationships. This also explains why we have redundant practices like dowry.

We ill-treat our children and elderly alike for their financial dependence. And we claim to have the best family-oriented culture. We are confused whether to adopt the Western pattern of sending our aged to old-age homes or to look after them following the cultural tradition. We follow neither. So, we ill-treat the elderly while keeping them at home.

The stories of neglect of the elderly have been trickling in for years, but a survey conducted in 20 cities by HelpAge India confirmed what has been suspected for long — rampant abuse of the elderly within the family structure. Of the 100 million elderly in India, one in every three faces abuse. Ironically, they do not wish to report their abuse to the police nor do they wish to seek help from the National Council for Senior Citizens and the existing laws, especially the Maintenance of Parents and Older Persons Act, 2007, to protect family reputation. In the absence of a proper mechanism for the implementation of these laws, their hollowness proves as futile as expectations of the elderly from their sons.
Some community initiatives have shown the way to find a solution to this problem. The Chandigarh Senior Citizens Association is one such example, a group of about 1500 senior citizens who have devised ways to help themselves. About 30 senior doctors among the members render their services to look after the health issues of the seniors. They celebrate birthdays, go for picnics and excursions, conduct computer classes to make seniors e- friendly and have their own physiotherapy centres. This self-help group also extends remarkable social service to the underprivileged. This model can be replicated by the elderly elsewhere to live with dignity.