The reality is that there is always a gap between the two generations of young and old in general. There are some understandings and sometimes some contradictions in this gap as well. Although it is a fight for rights, when such conflicts transcend borders and transform into a mental or physical assault on an individual, it ultimately affects the elderly.
Thus a recent study says that human rights violations against the elderly in India have not only increased this year compared to last year, but also put them at risk. As the second wave of Govt-19 intensified, the central government imposed a curfew. "What is the condition of the elderly?"
During the month of June 2021, volunteers from across the country spoke to more than 5,000 elderly people in various parts of the country and received answers from them. The survey points out that the second wave of curfew and curfew-related restrictions have forced most seniors to live in dangerous conditions. The report says seniors live through the most difficult stage of their lives, amid fears such as death, loss of family members or job loss to family members due to Covid-19
Eighty-two percent of seniors who answered the study's questions said their lives were badly affected during the curfew. Violence against 73 percent of seniors during the curfew has increased this year compared to last year. 61% of them report that such violence within their families is on the rise. Fifty-eight percent of seniors say that in their lifetime, they are neglected by those around them.
The report says that most elderly people are more likely to be abused because they have to depend on their family. In addition, it has been reported that older women are more likely to be affected than men.
Elderly people are subjected to such abuse due to various factors such as lack of awareness of their rights, poor physical condition, and lack of access to their needs. Disrespect and verbal harassment, neglect of their daily needs, refusal to provide proper food, refusal to provide medical assistance, and physical and mental abuse are considered as basic afflictions faced by the elderly. Thus, the study found that adults face severe psychological challenges such as depression, loneliness due to family neglect, depression, alcohol and smoking habits, fear of death, anxiety, frustration, and lack of self-esteem.
Closed in the circle of ‘harassment, imcee’, many elderly people are being inadvertently pushed into a nursing home. Older people are just like children. This is because as they get older, the elderly are unable to meet their basic needs and seek another mate. They are also children because the elderly need to take a baby for a walk, feed them, and look after someone close by at all times.
From their surroundings in the last days of their lives, all they can mentally expect is love. Celebrate them only on social websites on specific days like Father’s Day and Mother’s Day, and ignore them at other times, and love. If we give warmth too, that good family is the university.
