World Elder Abuse Awareness day falls on June 15, i.e. tomorrow. Since most of us will be busy in celebrating the Father’s day, which apparently falls on same day, we decided to do something different. We take a quick look at some of the harsh facts about elderly abuse in India and try to make the children of India aware about elderly abuse in the country; to not abuse the same father when he gets older and needs your affection. Elderly care is not too much of a fuss, it is all just being a little compassionate and tolerant, just the way your parents were, when you were a kid. The kids who send their parents to senior homes are far more compassionate than the ones who keep them at home and abuse them.
- Elder abuse most often takes place in the home where the senior lives. It can also happen in institutional settings.
- The four most common forms of elder abuse are physical abuse (including sexual abuse), psychological/emotional abuse, financial/material abuse, and neglect.
- Most elder abuse victims are dependent on their abuser for basic needs.
- Every 1 out of 3 senior citizens has been abused mainly by his son.
- Seniors who have been abused have a 300 percent higher risk of death when compared to those who weren’t.
- In almost 90 percent of elder abuse and neglect incidents, the perpetrator is a family member.
- Two-thirds of perpetrators are adult children or spouses.
- For every reported incident of elder abuse, five others go unreported.
- Almost 50 percent of seniors with dementia (a decline in mental ability. Alzheimer’s is the most common type of dementia) experience some form of abuse.
- Abuse is the highest in Madhya Pradesh (77.12%) while people in Rajasthan (1.67%) are most well behaved with the elderly in their family.
