Awareness of Elder Abuse in India: Social Issue Faced by the Senior Citizens You Never Knew

   You may have watched the movie 'Baghban' and thought how pathetic it was of the grown up children, ill-treating their parents and maybe even shredded few drops of tears and as the movie ended, you also forgot about the issue. Out of several social issues that India is dealing with, Elder Abuse in India is very much prevalent and according to statistics, actually rising.

     Out of various social issues like women discrimination, racism, bullying, gay rights, rape and various others, there is elderly abuse which is much less talked about in the Indian society and is something that needs much more awareness.


      HelpAge India which is an NGO that fights against poverty and other social problems in the country, has conducted various surveys based on this issue about the senior citizens of India being abused. More than half of the elderly population in India is said to have  witnessed disrespect and verbal abuse and a quarter being exploited economically. Most of them are actually being abused by their own sons and daughter in laws and this isn't a script of a Bollywood movie but actually facts that is happening in India.


      India does not have proper old age homes with better facilities and care for elderly and most of those elderly live with their family, where they actually get abused. Statistics say that about 25% of the elderly population of India do not even report the abuse they face due to confusion and the inability to deal with the issue.

     Bengaluru is said to have the highest rate for Elder Abuse in India with 75% of the senior citizen confessed to have witnessed some kind of abuse with Delhi being the least with 25%. The main reasons for Elderly Abuse in India is due to  dependence of elderly emotional and financially.

     This is one issue in India that is very much happening but very less talked about and what the society needs is awareness about elder abuse in India and people talking about it, so that various social organisations can come up and talk about it. A victim needs support and one drawback for a victim to report an abuse, he/her needs support to overcome fear. All one can do is, talk about it, whether be it with people, social organisations or even in social networks as an initial step to elder abuse awareness in India.

Do leave your comments about the issue of Elder Abuse in India below and do share with your friends and in social media about this issue and create AWARENESS.