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Now, an initiative to end Elder Abuse
By Satish Nandgaonkar
The Times of India, January 8, 2000
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* 89-year-old Ram Pradhan sits in a corner of his flat and quietly, slowly chops vegetables under the watchful eye of his daughter-in-law. What has become his daily routine now, he takes an agonising 30 minutes to do it and another 15 minutes to walk back to the kitchen. Pradhan suffers from elephantiasis, while his wife is partially blind.
* 80-year-old Prakash Mhatre often calls up a helpline for senior citizens asking the counselor: "Why is Euthanasia illegal?" Mhatre lives in his own flat with one of his sons in central Mumbai, while his second son lives in his second flat located in western Mumbai. Against Mhatre's wishes, his son wants him to move into the other flat. Mhatre, who has a bedridden wife, would have to climb three floors to reach the flat every day, but his son is persistent. Tired of the daily harassment on this count, Mhatre prays for a quick death.
* 70-year-old Kainaz Damania is more fortunate. Her son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren leave her alone in their huge flat. They refuse to eat or talk with her. They leave the room when she enters and lock her up for hours.
Unlike the 17 senior citizens who were brutally murdered in 1999 - the International year of the Older Person - Pradhan, Mhatre and Damania are not victims of crimes committed by outsiders. They are the victims of daily harassment by their own family.
Questions about prevalence of Elder Abuse first arose in 1998 when 76-year-old Vasudeo Dalal, and his 70-year-old wife Tara jumped to their death from the eighth floor of the posh South Mumbai highrise. Their suicide note stated that they were being harassed at home. Though Dalal's only son and his family denied the charge, the incident raised questions about whether this was just an isolated instance of Elder Abuse or a social evil rampant in the city.
Set up to communicate for a cause that they care about, an NGO called 'outrEACH' founded in 1999, decided to reach out to victims of Elder Abuse in Mumbai and begin with documenting the problem. Their research showed that though there was a lot of data available on Ageing in India, apart from an occasional news report, there was absolutely no documentation on Elder Abuse. That was when they decided to make a documentary on the issue.
Elder Abuse is defined as a single or repeated act or lack of appropriate action occurring within a relationship where there is an expectation of trust. This may result in physical harm or mental distress, jeopardising the elder person's safety or well-being. The physical manifestations of Elder Abuse are actions like slapping, beating, pushing, burning, pulling hair, or forced confinement. The abuse also happens at psychological levels where the elderly are humiliated, insulted, blackmailed etc. Families often desert their elders completely or neglect their basic needs of food, housing, medicines, physical help etc.
"It may be happening all around us, but not many elders or even their children are aware that their elders are victims of abuse. The causes for this abuse vary from inter-personal dynamics between the abused and the abuser to direct property-related harassment. Most victims do not report abuse for various reasons. They feel ashamed at ill-treatment from their own family, or they fear retaliation or think that they will be put away in some old age home etc.," says Mehta, who will direct the documentary tentatively titled 'A Family Secret'.
To be shot on Digital Video, the documentary will record the testimonies of abuse victims willing to talk and delve into the complex issue of Elder Abuse. "The idea is to capture the elders in their own environment where they could be more comfortable and confide in us. The main aim of this project is to create awareness and sensitise people. It will raise questions, examine issues. It will also present views of experts like psychologists, sociologists, doctors, lawyers, police officers, and government officials. This will make the concerned agencies take note of the issue and make policy changes," says Mehta, an Industrial Design Centre, IIT alumni whose 19-minute documentary 'Kumbharwada, Bombay' on Dharavi potters' colony was well-acclaimed.
