Report on Elder Abuse & Crime in India, 2011

Report on Elder Abuse & Crime in India, 2011

SALIENT FINDINGS:

Reproduced with reference to the report published by helpage India

• Abuse by daughter-in-law was reported most in Delhi (100%) followed by Hyderabad (89%), and Bhopal (87%).

• Nationally Daughter-in-law emerged as the major abuser of the elderly (63.4%), followed by the son (44%) from the lower socio economic strata, as against the son (53.6%) last year in the higher socio economic strata.

• More than one fifth (22%) of the elderly have experienced any type of abuse with this being reported highest in Bangalore (44%) followed by Hyderabad (38%) and Bhopal (30%).

• Bangalore tops Elder abuse cases with a shocking 44%, it is closely followed by Hyderabad (38%), Bhopal (30%) and Kolkata (23%) the lowest being Chennai (2%).

• Verbal abuse is reported more in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore while emotional abuse seems to be more in Bangalore

• Half of the elderly from the lower socio economic strata reported facing abuse because of lack of emotional support. Last year among the elderly from higher socio economic strata, property issues emerged as the most common context for abuse

• More than two third (68%) of the elderly from the lower socio economic strata did not take any action when they faced abuse

• Most (98%) of the elderly reported not filing a complaint against abuse faced

• About 72% of the elderly stay with their sons while one fourth 39% stay alone with spouse Only.

• Chennai reported the highest percentage (38%) of elderly currently engaged in an economic activity while Delhi NCR the lowest (7%).

• Four fifth (81%) of the elderly are dependent on son, with the percentage being highest in Hyderabad (92%) followed by Kolkata (90%) and Bhopal (88%). The percentage of elderly dependent on spouse financially is highest in Patna (29%) followed by Hyderabad (22%).

• Two third (66%) of the elderly are financially dependent on others, with highest being reported in Ahmedabad (86%) and Mumbai (79%). Majority (85%) of the elderly reported being dependent for medical expenditure while three fourth (75%) for daily living expenditure


• Only one third (37%) said they would take any action in case of facing crime. Of those who said they wont, about half (46%) of such elderly reported that they were scared of facing further crime against them and there would not be any concrete action.



• The mean age of the elderly across the cities is 67 years. Nearly half (49%) of the elderly in Kolkata are of 70+ years

• Three fifth (60%) of the elderly are currently married, while more than one third (38%) are widow/ widower

• The mean number of children the elderly have is 4, with 2 sons and 2 daughters with highest being reported in Delhi NCR and Patna (5 each) and lowest in Hyderabad (3).

• More than two third (72%) of the elderly stay with son, while one fourth (23%) stay with spouse. More than one tenth (13%) are living with daughter

• More than half (52%) of the elderly are illiterate with one fourth (23%) having completed Primary levels and 15% having Middle level education

• Proportion of illiterate is highest in Patna (72%) and lowest in Hyderabad (27%)

• As regards the last main occupation, one third worked as unskilled workers and 26% were homemakers

• One fifth (21%) of the elderly are currently engaged in any economic activity with Chennai reporting the highest (38%) and Delhi NCR the lowest (7%)

• One fourth of the elderly in the age group of 60-69 years and less than one fifth (18%) in the age group of 70-79 years are currently engaged in any economic activity

• More than one fourth (29%) of the elderly currently economically active are petty traders and 13% are shop owners

• The average monthly household income of the elderly is Rs. 6269. About 30% of the elderly have a monthly household income in the range of Rs 2501-5000

• More than half (55%) of the elderly have remittance from children as the main source of income and more than one third (35%), pension

• More than two third (69%) of the elderly are living in their own house while 30% are living in a rented place

• More than two fifth (41%) of the elderly own property and this is highest in Delhi NCR (76%) and Bhopal (75%) and lowest in Ahmedabad (4%)

• One third (31%) of the elderly need assistance from anyone for daily routine activities with more than half (52%) are dependent on daughter-in-law

• Highest percentage of elderly needing assistance is among the oldest old (41%)


• More than four fifth (81%) of the elderly are financially dependent on their son and 14% on their daughter and 12% on daughter-in-law

• Three fifth (60%) of the elderly consider verbal abuse as elder abuse while more than two fifth (48%) feel physical abuse constitutes elder abuse


• More than one third each of the elderly feel that elder abuse constitutes emotional abuse (37%), showing disrespect (36%) and economic abuse (35%)

• Nearly one fifth (19%) of the elderly feel neglected with 20% of the elderly in the age group of 60-69 years feeling so

• More than two third (72%) of the elderly feel neglected sometimes while 17% feel neglected everyday

• Feeling of being neglected stems from the family related factors such as family members not interacting and being busy in their own lives/ work

• Verbal abuse is the most commonly reported abuse faced by the elderly from lower socio economic strata while it was ‘showing disrespect’ reported by the elderly from higher socio economic strata last year.

• It is observed that higher cases of elder abuse occur among elderly after 70 years. This trend was also observed among the higher socio economic strata last year

• In case of emotional abuse, mental torture was reported the most with Mumbai recording the highest (84%). ‘Speaking in loud voice’ is the highest percentage of abuse in case of verbal abuse

• One fourth of the elderly who took action (25%) reported discussing about the abuse faced with others in the family or in the neighbourhood or community

• Among the elderly who registered complaint, two fifth (40%) reported that nothing concrete came out of it. One fifth of the elderly reported that as a result of the complaint, the police carried out home visit

• More than one fourth (29%) of the elderly in the lower socio economic strata as compared to nearly half of the elderly (48%) last year (from the higher socio economic strata) expressed willingness to take concrete action

• Unwillingness to take any action against abuse stems from the perception among the elderly that - ‘it would lead to further abuse’ and ‘sense of shame in the community’

• Awareness about laws, policies and programmes against elder abuse is low among the elderly from lower socio economic strata

• One third (33%) of the elderly are aware of existing laws and programmes against elder abuse

• Among the elderly who are aware of the laws, policies and programmes, 18% are aware of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizen’s Act, 11% of the elderly are aware of the National Policy on Older Persons and 12% are aware of the Protection for Women against Domestic Violence Act

• Awareness of the law enforcing agencies is low as only 5% of the elderly are aware of these

• Two third (66%) of the elderly feel that role of police/ lawyers is supportive in controlling elder abuse


• More than two fifth (43%) of the elderly think that the police is equipped to handle such cases. The percentage of elderly from lower socio economic strata who are of the view that the Police Department is equipped to handle cases of elder abuse is higher as compared to the elderly from higher socio economic strata

• The major measures to be taken up by the law enforcing agencies suggested by the elderly include ‘giving protection’ (38%), ‘serving notice to the abuser’ and ‘carrying out home visits’ (33% each)

• ‘Having steady cash flow’ (51%), ‘having own property to reduce economic dependency’ (48%) and ‘making adjustments within family’ (35%) and are the major measures suggested by the elderly to control elder abuse

• Low percentage of elderly from lower socio economic strata reported ever facing crime. The highest percentage is reported by elderly in the age group of 70-79 years (3%)

• Among the major types of crime faced by the elderly, as reported are burglary, molestations and criminal acts with less than one tenth (8%) reporting intimidation

• Only one third (37%) are willing to take any concrete action for crime

• Unwillingness to take any concrete action stems from ‘being scared of facing further crime’ and ‘no concrete action’

• Half of the elderly feel that police is equipped to handle redressal of cases of crime

• Measures suggested for law enforcing agencies to tackle crime include ‘law enforcing agencies should provide protection to the elderly’, ‘serve notice to the person committing crime’ and ‘home visits to be made at regular intervals’

• The measures suggested by the elderly in controlling crime include ‘inform about the crime to the Police’, ‘contact counsellors to help deal with the crime, ‘procedure for legal aid should be simple and effective’, ‘contact Senior Citizen’s Association/ RWA for help and guidance and ‘simplify procedure for Police intervention’

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