New Delhi, Oct 01: On the International Day of Older Persons today, voluntary organisations have expressed concern at the rise in violence against the elderly.
"There has been a rise in violence against elderly people and it is of great concern for us," said Mala Kapur Shankardass, sociologist and chairperson of the voluntary organisation for development welfare and research foundation.
Till May this year, police here received 238 distress calls from the elderly, while 183 cases last year involving elderly people were related to property disputes, she said.
"Our pledge for October 1 is that we are going to concentrate on violence against elderly as our thrust area," said Shankardass.
"We need to focus on older people, especially those belonging to the middle class as over the years their number has increased and there isn't enough concern for them," said Shankardass, who is also a representative of the International Network for Prevention of Elder Abuse.
She was instrumental in the global launch of the World Abuse Awareness Day in Delhi on June 15.
India's elderly population was 81 million in 2002, and the figure is expected to rise to over 324 million by 2050.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), about two-thirds of all older people live in the developing world, and this will rise to 75 percent by 2025. In the developing world, the very old (age 80) is the fastest growing population group.
Bureau Report
