Every year on 15th June World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) is celebrated. The United Nations General Assembly officially recognized it in December 2011, on the plea of the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (INPEA). Every year many awareness programs take place globally to voice against the abuse taking place on elderly people.

What is Elder Abuse?

Elder abuse can be defined as “any act or lack of appropriate conduct that causes any harm or hampers the well-being of an elder person. Elder abuse is a global issue that requires attention internationally.

People often exploit and neglect the elderly. Their age makes them much vulnerable to abuse. Being old, body and mind become weak, making them unable to resist or take any action against any sort of exploitation or abuse. Elder abuse takes place in every corner of the world but is still taboo as no one talks about it.

The old people are often beaten, neglected, abandoned, and even sexually exploited. The elderly are not only exploited by outsiders, but even by their families. It mostly happens because people find them weak and feel them as a burden on them. There are many cases where children have abandoned their old parents after transferring all their parents’ property on their names by forceful means.

Abuse of the elderly can take many forms.

•          Neglect- Life necessities such as food, clothing, shelter, and medical care are not provided.

•          Verbal Abuse- Using threatening and foul language to create a sense of fear within the elderly.

•          Physical Abuse- Causing physical harm by beating and even trying to kill the elder person.

•          Social Abuse- Restricting the elderly from having any social contact with anyone to restrain them from sharing about the abuse they are facing.

•          Financial Abuse- Forcefully taking upon the elder person’s property or illegal use of their money.

These abuses not just harm the elder person physically but also mentally. Such abuses may lead to traumatic experiences by the elderly and deteriorate their mental health, which might result in depression or anxiety.

There are laws for protecting the rights of the elderly. But when no voice is raised against the abuse, how would the laws help? The person facing such abuse often declines to lodge any complaint against it. Either they have no will left to do so after suffering so much, or they think “what the society would think if they come to know about it”.

2021’s Theme for World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

This year (2021) the theme for World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is ‘Access to Justice’. It aims at reminding the importance to address the elderly peoples’ needs who seek recourse for any wrong happening taking place with them.

The elderly deserve and need just love, care, and respect. If today’s youth is tomorrow’s future, then the elderly is the foundation of tomorrow’s future. The knowledge we have today is what has been passed on to us through generations, through our parents; our grandparents. The elderly are the tressure box to this knowledge and life lessons who need to be cherished and not abused.

Every human has the right to live a life of dignity. And the old people are nowhere to stand distinct. They deserve the same rights as any other human being. They have the same right to enjoy their rights as others do.