Abuse of the elderly people in public spaces in Bhubaneswar is alarming as the city tops among 19 surveyed with 92 per cent of senior citizens complaining maltreatment.
The survey conducted by HelpAge brings to the fore how senior citizens are meted out with bad treatment in cities like Delhi, Kolkata (WB), Mumbai (Maharashtra), Chennai (TN), Ahmedabad (Gujarat), Bangalore (Karnataka), Bhubaneswar (Odisha), Guwahati (Assam), Hyderabad (Telangana and AP), lucknow (UP) and Shillong (Meghalaya), Gorakhpur (UP), Gaya (Bihar), Ujjain (MP) and Warangal (Telangana), Hisar (Haryana), Purulia (WB), Satara(Maharashtra) and Kanchipuram (TN).
The research is both qualitative and quantitative with 4,615 elderly interviewed face-to-face with a structured questionnaire.
According to the survey, the national capital is the highest when it comes to bad behavior of Government hospital staff towards the elderly with 26 per cent, followed by Bangalore with 22 per cent. 17 per cent of mall staff behave badly with elders, the worst in all of the service delivery points. 12 per cent of the elderly have been treated rudely by others in a queue, while trying to pay their utility bills such as telephone and electricity etc.
While nationally 44 per cent elderly have actually experienced abuse and mistreatment by society due to their age, in Delhi it is 23 per cent. Bangalore turns out to be the highest perpetrator with 70 per cent elderly experiencing abuse, followed by Hyderabad (60 per cent) Guwahati (59 per cent) and Kolkata (52 per cent). Hyderabad, Bangalore, Bhubaneswar and Chennai in most parameters are amongst the top 5 cities which mistreat the elderly in the public space.
While a large percentage of Indian society treats elderly well, many elderly persons feel that today’s youngsters are callous and impatient. The core of it all is ‘ageism’, which is discrimination on the basis of age. Simple things like assuming that the elderly can’t understand technology, or being impatient with the elderly or pushing an elderly person in a hurry to get to their destination, or ignoring their utility due to their age, are just some of things, said the survey.
“We are currently running a campaign to ‘stop ageism’ and the report will give us a greater insight to its practice in society,” says Bharati Chakra, State head HelpAge India.