Street play, walk mark Elder Abuse Awareness Day

 To create an awareness among public about the abuse faced by elders, a street play, road show and an awareness walk was organised on Saturday, on the occasion of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.

Organised by Elders Helpline, a joint project of the Bangalore City Police and Nightingales Medical Trust, the event informed public about various kinds of abuses the elders faced.

The awareness walk was flagged off by Department for Enpowerment for Differently abled and Senior Citizens Director Jayavibhava Swamy.

A street play performed by a group of volunteers near Double Road, highlighted how an elderly citizen is abused at home by his family members over property matters.A booklet on ‘Concessions and other useful information for Senior Citizens’ was also released and the same was distributed among public.

Jayavibhava Swamy told Deccan Herald that since one helpline to report about the abuse of seniors was not enough in Bangalore, four more helpline would be made operational in four months time.

“Ten such helplines will be set up in other districts of the State along with four day care centres for senior citizens at Gulbarga, Bangalore, Mysore and Hubli. Our department has been holding workshops and awareness programmes all through the year for the welfare of senior citizens.”

Nightingales Medical Trust Managing Trustee Dr Radha S Murthy said “Studies have revealed that over 40% of elders experience abuse in Bangalore. So far the helpline has received 1,07,974 calls, 7,222 cases have been reported at the helpline and 3,718 disputes have been successfully resolved by the helpline through counseling, legal advice or other appropriate actions.”

Any senior citizen in distress or any concerned citizen who sees an elder being abused can contact the Elders Helpline on 1090 (toll free) or 22860907.