1. On this very special day dedicated to the protection of Elder people, this blog is to educate you about Elder Abuse, its forms and the current situation of elders in India. India needs elder protection laws, but until then, we should try our best to stop it.
   

“Re-Pay your Debt to Elders – Avoid Elder Abuse”

“Don’t Abuse Elders; You will be an Elder Soon”

·        Meaning of Elder Abuse: Elder abuse can be defined as an act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where an older human being expects trust from a younger person, but the younger person causes harm or distress to an older person.

·        Forms of abuse: Elder abuse can be done in various forms such as physical, sexual, psychological, financial and material abuse, emotional abuse, abandonment, neglect, and serious loss of dignity and respect. The neglect can happen through intentional or unintentional neglect.

·        Current Situation: In many parts of the world, elder abuse happens with little response or recognition. Until lately, this serious social problem was hidden from the public view and considered mostly a private matter. Even today, elder abuse continues to be a taboo, mostly underestimated and ignored by societies across the world.

·        A 2017 study estimated that globally 15.7% of people aged 60 years and older were abused or around 1 in 6 older people worldwide have been abused in the past year. India has around 104 million elderly and the number is expected to increase 173 million by 2026.

·        What’s special about 15 June? The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) designated 15th June for World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD).  It is the day to spread awareness to the people of the whole world to not keep quiet and raise their voices against any such abuse and sufferings given to some of our elders.

·        Purpose of this Day: The purpose of WEAAD is to provide an opportunity for communities around the world to promote a better understanding of abuse and neglect of older persons by raising awareness of the cultural, social, economic and demographic processes affecting elder abuse and neglect. 

·        Theme of WEAAD 2019: The 2019 WEAAD theme is “Lifting up Voices”. The theme is centred on unifying the parallel fields of Elder Justice and Violence Against Women by bringing to the forefront of the lived experiences of older people around the globe. The Lifting Up Voices tools will help with all your planning and promotions.

·        Surveys: More than 71 per cent of senior citizens in India face humiliation or harassment by their own family members, children or relatives, a study has revealed. As per the survey, every second senior citizen is being "harassed or humiliated mistreated by their own family members, children, relatives or others".

·        India should take initiative: India does not have any specific elder abuse laws or a national government policy framework related to elder abuse. Therefore, it should take the initiative to come up with a statutory law where elder people are protected, as elder abuse is increasing with time.

If you are an elder or see someone suffering from Elder Abuse, try your best to stop it. Also, we support Elder protection and we can help you. LawTendo is an intuitive online platform that makes it speedier and simpler to discover and contact the finest Attorneys in any city/court in India.

LawTendo has around 15000+ lawyers across India in our platform & have successfully solved 15,000 cases. LawTendo strives to facilitate cost-efficient and quality legal service to our clients. You can contact LawTendo  online for Legal Consultation or contact us at +91-9671633666 or [email protected].