The elderly have a better deal in Kerala than in most other states in the country. Research published by the non-government organisation HelpAge India shows that Kerala has one of the lowest rates of abuse of elders in the country.
One in 10 senior citizens is abused in Kerala against the table topper Madhya Pradesh, where eight in 10 elders are abused.
Kerala is third from the bottom, with Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan registering better figures. The percentage of abuse in Himachal Pradesh is 2.99 while in Rajasthan it is 1.67.
Assam, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat are in second, third and fourth positions, with 60.55%, 52% and 42.97 respectively.
Some 5,400 senior citizens in 20 cities across the country were surveyed for the study “Elder Abuse in India 2012.” There were 280 respondents from Kerala distributed across 40 divisions under Kochi Corporation.
In Kerala, disrespect was the most prevalent type of abuse, followed by neglect and verbal abuse.
“Several elders were not ready to tell all their problems as they did not want their children or close relatives to suffer.
They usually act compassionately towards their children, despite receiving severe abuse from them.
So the actual abuse rate in the state could be slightly higher than what was found in the survey,” said Biju Mathew, the state head of HelpAge India, who led the research here.
Friday being World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, HelpAge India will organise several awareness programmes across the state.