Senior citizens exploited most in City, says study

Bangalore tops the metropolitan cities in India where elderly persons are exploited by their family members, according to a study conducted by HelpAge India.

The City accounts for 75 per cent of atrocities committed against elderly persons by their daughters-in-law and children while Delhi accounted for about 22 per cent, according to the study report. 

City Police Commissioner Raghavendra Auradkar released the report here on Friday on the occasion of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.

A total of 1,200 elderly persons from six metropolitan cities and six other urban areas were selected for the study. Bangalore and Mangalore were chosen for the study in Karnataka. Of the six urban areas, Nagpur topped the table with around 85 per cent of the total cases of exploitation, while Kanpur was at the bottom with 13 per cent.
 Mangalore accounted for 73 per cent of such cases. About 61 per cent of the elderly persons claimed that they were exploited by daughters-in-law, while 59 per cent said they were exploited by their sons. 

About 41 per cent of them said their daughters-in-law and sons used abusive language against them, while 33 per cent said they were disrespected. Around 29 per cent claimed that they were neglected by their children, while about 41 per cent chose not to disclose anything considering family reputation, the study revealed.

About 64 per cent of the respondents knew about the helpline facility for elderly persons, while only 12 per cent of them were found to be seeking the helpline facility.

The study also indicated a sharp increase as regards exploitation. The previous year recorded 23 per cent increase, while it went up to 50 percent this year.

Helpline in all police divisions

All seven police divisions in the City will have senior citizens’ helpline facility soon, City Police Commissioner Raghavendra Auradkar (in pic) said on Friday. Briefing mediapersons after releasing the report by HelpAge India, he said the north and west divisions already have senior citizens’ helpline facility. “Currently, the facility is being operated from Malleswaram and Basaveshwarnagar police stations. Soon, the facility will be extended to remaining five divisions,” he said. Policemen would be trained by experts to handle the senior citizen exploitation cases, he said.