The Elders Helpline, a joint project of Nightingales Medical Trust (NMT) and the Bangalore City Police, is organising a road show and street plays in Bengaluru on June 15, 2018, to mark World Elder Abuse Awareness and Prevention Day. The aim is to send out a clear message – that there should be an end to the abuse, assault, neglect and intimidation of the older generation.
In India the population of elders is increasing substantially. In addition to various age-related disabilities, elders become an easy target for abuse and crimes. Elders suffer physical, emotional and financial abuses in silence. Elder abuse continues to be the least investigated types of violence, mostly underestimated and ignored by society.
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is one day in the year when the whole world voices its opposition to the abuse and suffering inflicted on some of the elderly. Elder abuse is a global social issue which affects the health and human rights of millions of older persons around the world, and an issue which deserves the attention of the international community. Elder abuse can’t be handled alone.
Chairperson of the Karnataka State Human Rights Commission D.H. Waghela, former Chief Justice of the High Court of Karnataka, will be the chief guest at the event be held on Friday, June 15, at 10.30 am at Shivajinagar Bus Stand, Bengaluru. Street plays depicting various forms of abuse will be enacted to create awareness on this sensitive issue.
The Elders Helpline 1090 (toll-free) has been serving elders in distress for the past 16 years. Since its inception in 2002 to May 2018, the Helpline has received 180415 calls, registered 9,202 complaints, and resolved 4,817 cases. 52% of the complaints have been successfully resolved through counseling, legal advice or other appropriate actions by a team of counsellors, social workers with the support of police and lawyers. The types of complaints are mainly ill-treatment by family members, financial exploitation, property disputes and fraud by service providers.
Senior citizens in distress or others who witness an elder being abused can call the Elders Helpline on 1090 (toll free) or 22943226. All Helpline services are free, says a press note from the organisers.