World Elder Abuse Day

Older trees give the densest shade. Similarly, older people are like trees in our life, full of affection and having immense experience about living. That is why when they are tormented, we have to stand up for them and confront their difficulties alongside them.

June 15th is signified as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD), a time to educate communities and policy makers around the globe about the exploitation, abuse and neglect of aging individuals. Established by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse, WEAAD is intended to highlight “the cultural, social, economic and demographic processes” contributing to this enormous public health and human rights issue.

Elder abuse takes many insidious forms. The perpetrators are often family members or other caregivers, but also include manipulative strangers. The abuse can be physical, ranging from intimidation to injury to non-consensual sexual activity. It can be emotional, involving verbal attacks or belittling behavior, or it can involve financial exploitation. It also includes neglect--a failure to ensure safety and emotional well-being. Signs of elder abuse can be difficult to recognize since they are often mistaken or overlooked as symptoms of dementia or physical frailty. The systemic elder abuse of hospital patients, and residents of long term care and retirement homes has been exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, but it is not new. The pandemic is a public health crisis that has exposed another, existing, on-going health crisis that older peoples and their families have personally experienced for decades.

Old Age has never been a problem for India where a value based, joint family system is supposed to prevail. Indian culture is automatically respectful and supportive of elders. With that background, elder abuse has never been considered as a problem in India and has always been thought of as a western problem. However, the coping capacities of the younger and older family members are now being challenged and more often than not there is unwanted behavior by the younger family members, which is experienced as abnormal by the older family member but cannot however be labelled.

Education is the cornerstone of preventing elder abuse. Media coverage of abuse in nursing homes has made the public knowledgeable about-and outraged against-abusive treatment in those settings. Because most abuse occurs in the home by family members or caregivers, there needs to be a concerted effort to educate the public about the special needs and problems of the elderly and about the risk factors for abuse. When other people are part of the social circle, tensions are less likely to reach unmanageable levels. Having other people to talk to is an important part of relieving tensions. Many times, families in similar circumstances can band together to share solutions and provide informal respite for each other. On this day it is my humble request to you all to identify ways to empower older people through senior centers and intergenerational programs that will reduce the harmful effects of ageism.

---By Subhadip Mitra