Nearly half of all senior citizens in Chennai have experienced abuse and ‘mistreatment’ in public spaces, a new nation-wide report by HelpAge India, a charitable organisation, has found. Considering Tamil Nadu comes third in the share of the elderly (60 years and above) in the total population — 10.4% — as per the 2011 census, this is an issue that needs urgent attention, say experts.
The HelpAge India Report, ‘How India Treats its Elderly’, was released on Wednesday, ahead of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, which falls on Thursday. The survey was conducted across 19 tier I, tier II and tier III cities in the country, and had 4,615 respondents, who were interviewed face to face with a structured questionnaire. While in Chennai, 49% of seniors had experienced abuse and ‘mistreatments’ due to their age, Bangalore topped the country in this figure at 70%, followed by Hyderabad at 60%, Guwahati at 59% and Kolkata at 52%. Mumbai ranked behind Chennai at 33%.
The survey this year highlighted how senior citizens were treated in public spaces in the country. The research covered four main areas: the actual experience of elders as they interacted with people and service providers; elder perceptions on elder ill-treatment; the general state of mind of elders as they stepped out of their homes; and a wish-list of their expectations from society.
Helplines keep busy
Previous surveys by the organisation had found that about 50% of senior citizens in the country were abused at home. The figure for elder abuse in public spaces was nearly the same: 44 % countrywide. In Chennai, 22 % of senior citizens said they were on the receiving end of bad treatment by other customers in queues while paying utility bills, while 25 % said they were badly treated by vegetable vendors. Mall staff were no exception: 17% of elders said they were mistreated at malls. The survey also covered hospitals, buses and how elders were treated depending on what they wore.
India-wide, 53 % of elders felt discriminated against, 61 % felt that people got impatient with their slowness, and 52 % felt people were ruder to them if they were not well dressed.
“The abuse was found to be higher in metropolitan cities compared to tier II cities,” said V. Sivakumar, head, Tamil Nadu, HelpAge India. Kancheepuram was the other town in Tamil Nadu in which the survey was conducted.
Abuse, said Mr. Sivakumar, head of the geriatric department at Madras Medical College — the first institution in the State to start such a department — can be physical, psychological or financial. “It is prevalent in society and has to be given more cognizance,” he said.
Dean, MMC, R. Narayanababu said the National Centre for Ageing, being set up at a cost of ₹ 125 crore on the premises of the King Institute of Preventive Medicine, Guindy, was in the finishing stages. “It will be opened in 2018 and will house all specialities under one roof and will also have a research wing,” he said.
Last year, HelpAge India launched a ‘Save Our Seniors’ app that connects to toll-free helplines for elders in distress and provides health and legal information for the elderly.