Erica Dhar, Graduate Student, New York Univerity writes...
DHAR: How would you bring greater awareness to the issue of elder abuse in a country such as India where culturally the term carries a stigma and people are reticent to discuss private issues outside the family barely and are barely able to acknowledge themselves as victims? What lessons if any can be learned and implemented from countries with similar cultural ethos?
MEHTA: About a decade ago, the term ‘elder abuse’ was not part of our vocabulary in India. This is not to say that abusive behavior did not exist. Internationally acclaimed film director Satyajit Ray was among the first to portray with great sensitivity, what could be perceived as elder abuse in “Pather Panchali (Song of the Road)” in 1955!
More recently, popular cinema has embraced ageing, which includes everything from loneliness to love stories to elder abuse. It is easier to overcome the stigma by bringing these issues out of the closet and into light. In a country that produces nearly a thousand films a year, the power of the box office is an excellent way to raise awareness.
Print media can play a bigger role in sensitizing people to recognize elder abuse, whereas television has started allowing dialogue in public space already. India is no more in a state of denial, and even the government acknowledges the existence of ageing issues.
On a community level, it would be effective to create a safe environment for senior citizens to open up. This can be in the form of a social network or group (culturally acceptable), which functions more like a support group. Rather than looking at elder abuse in black and white terms of ‘the victim’ and ‘the perpetrator’, such a group can encourage understanding of elder abuse, in countries that are traditionally expected to revere the elderly. Sharing knowledge and experience with other South Asian countries is as important as learning and adapting positive interventions from the ‘west’.
SOURCE: AARP.org
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