NEW DELHI: Respect for the elderly is supposed to be ingrained in Indian culture, but it may not be reflected in daily life, if the results of a countrywide survey released on the eve of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day are any indication.

At 44%, almost half the elders surveyed for a HelpAge India study said they were treated badly in public, while at 53%, more than half said they believed that Indian society discriminates against elders.

And, for those above 60, living in the Garden City of India is not a walk in the park but a nightmare. In Bengaluru, 70% of elders said they had experienced abuse and mistreatment in public spaces.

On the bright side, however, Delhi emerged as a comparatively caring society, with only 23% elders facing any abuse in public.

Worryingly, 64% believe it is easy to get away with being rude to the elderly. This discontent is highest in Bhubaneswar (92%), followed by Guwahati (85%), Lucknow (78%), Hyderabad (74%), Bengaluru (71%), Chennai (64%), Kolkata 62% and Mumbai 61%. Delhi’s where it is the lowest, at 16%.

Read this story in Gujarati

Rude Delhi is kinder to senior citizens

Sharing the findings of ‘How India Treats its Elderly - A National Study 2017’ released in the Capital on Wednesday, HelpAge India CEO Mathew Cherian said, “The findings worry me. Elder abuse is a sensitive topic. Over the past few years we have been studying and researching elder abuse within the closed doors of one’s home. This year we decided to move out into the much broader area of public space, where mistreatment and abuse is inexcusable.”

On most parameters, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Bhubaneswar and Chennai emerged as the worst five cities where elders are ill-treated in public spaces.

Delhi, usually seen as a place marked by indifference and rudeness, seemed to be not doing so badly on this front. But on one count the Capital punishes the elderly the most - bad behaviour of government hospital staff towards the old, at 26%, followed by Bengaluru at 22%.

The study is based on a sample survey of 4,615 elders (2,377 male and 2,238 female) across 19 cities and covers four main areas — actual experiences of elders as they interact with people, elders’ perceptions of ill-treatment of the old, general state of mind of elders as they step out of their homes and a wishlist of their expectations from society.

For instance, the report has a section on the challenges the elderly face on roads. It turns out that 89% of them find the behaviour of motorists and bikers a challenge while 66% feel threatened by the general law and order situation.

Sadly, even as the study shows that a large section of the elderly like going out and cope with challenges, a massive 42% said they avoid stepping out as far as possible.

The biggest concern for 38% of the outgoing elderly was fear of mishaps due to negligence by others. Twenty-two percent cited lack of medical help in emergency as a major worry while 10% feared theft and snatching of valuables. A key concern for 6% was inadequate restrooms/lavatories.

Among other aspects of public life, the study also brought to light the elderly’s experience ranging from public transport, banks, post offices, interaction with vegetable vendors, chemists to hospitals both private and government and bill payment counters.

The experiences are varied reflecting that small interactions too can be anywhere from good to bad for an elderly person. For instance, the study reveals that it turned out that 17% of mall staff behave badly with elders, the worst with any service delivery point.

Besides the bus, the study also looks at the newest form of transport — the metro. Nearly 43% of those surveyed use the metro and 78% use buses. Of those who use the metro, 72% said that almost always or very often they were offered a seat, but a significant 28% said “sometimes”, and 1% even said “never”. For bus travel, more than 62% said they were offered a seat.

The study also touches upon a critical fact related to the desire to work after retirement. While there were just about 14% who were in favour of continuing to work, 60% of them did not get the job they applied for.

In terms of support system, 72% of the elderly said they shared their unpleasant encounters in public spaces with their families.

About half of the men (49%) shared their experiences with their wives though only 32% of women shared their encounters with husbands. Around 55% women shared their experiences with their children.

Speaking on the concerns raised in the study, Manjira Khurana, country head, Communications and Advocacy, HelpAge India said, “The core of it all is ageism, which is discrimination on the basis of age. Few understand it, but practise it knowingly or unknowingly. Simple things like assuming elders don’t understand technology, or being impatient with elders are examples.”

Khurana said that Help-Age is running a campaign against ageism and it is aimed at making people aware of their own transition to senior citizenship. The voluntary organisation has data on cases of elders facing abuse within the home. This is not uncommon and elders are in need of care and protection as they face abuse within their own homes. HelpAge’s study on public spaces, additionally, reiterates the enormity of the social problem confronting the elderly outside their homes.

