Every day, we hear about how our senior citizens are abandoned by their own family members. This is a symptom of a broader and more serious issue that senior citizens of our country face today: elder abuse.
In India, there are over 100 million senior persons, or people above the age of 60. According to a 2014 poll by HelpAge India, 50 percent of the aged surveyed, including 48 percent men and 52 percent women, had experienced abuse.
The most painful information that came to be known was that the abusers were not outsiders. Most often, they came from their own homes. The survey discovered that daughters-in-law were the most common abusers, followed by sons and daughters. The victims’ emotional and financial dependence on the abusers were the most common causes for abuse..
Earlier, the Delhi High Court passed an order stating that adults who live in their parents’ house and abuse them can be evicted from the property. In 2019, parliament amended the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens (Amendment) Bill. The key changes that the new bill made are:
Children
2007: Children refers to children and grandchildren, excluding minors.
2019: Now step-children, adoptive children, children-in-law, and the legal guardian of minor children have been added.
Relatives
2007: The original Act defined relative as the legal heir of a childless senior citizen, excluding minors, who possess or would inherit his property after death.
2019: The amendment bill seeks to expand the definition to include minors and they would be represented by their legal guardians.
Parents
2007: In the original Act, parents include biological, adoptive, and step-parents.
2019: Expanding the scope of parents, the proposed amendment includes parents-in-law, and grandparents.
Police protection
2007: The original Act has no provision for police protection to senior citizens.
2019: As per the proposed amendment, every police station must have at least one officer (not below the rank of Assistant Sub-Inspector) to deal with issues related to parents and senior citizens. The state governments must create a special police unit for senior citizens in every district and it will be headed by a police officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police.
“Abuse can be verbal, physical and emotional. It can be neglect, disrespect and abandonment,” says Activist Rekha Murthy.
Though many of the victims reach out to helpline, but most of those who report abuse are reluctant to file a complaint.
” Many people are afraid of retaliation if they report it. They also don’t want to complain about their children or cast a negative light on the family. They believe that is a normal aspect of getting older.” she adds.
What’s more alarming is that few people are aware of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act of 2007, which protects senior citizens from abuse and desertion.
The legislation was passed “to provide for more effective provisions for the sustenance and welfare of parents and older persons, as promised and recognised by the Constitution, and for matters connected with or incidental thereto,” according to the bill.
Parents and grandparents who are unable to support themselves through their own earnings can claim maintenance from their offspring, according to the Act.
What about Childless senior citizens?
Childless senior citizens can also demand maintenance from a “relative” who is the legal heir of the former and is in possession or will inherit their property after their death.
Provisions
If the senior persons’ children or relatives neglect or fail to care for them, the Maintenance Tribunal can order the former to pay monthly allowances of not more than Rs 10,000.”Maintenance” includes provisions for food, clothing, residence, and medical attendance and treatment.
The Act mandates state governments to constitute Maintenance Tribunals and Appellate Tribunals to deal with proceedings under the Act. “Though most states have implemented the Act, the awareness of it is still very low,” Rekha says.
Maintenance applications can be made in a Tribunal which will have the powers of a Civil Court.
A significant provision in the Act deals with the Transfer of Property, which can be made void under certain circumstances – like if children/relatives refuse to provide elders with basic amenities and physical needs.
This is only applicable in cases where the property was transferred after the commencement of the Act – in 2007.
According to the Act, such a transfer of property “shall be deemed to have been made by fraud or coercion or under undue influence.”
Section 24 of the Act deals with offences related to abandonment.
According to this section, any person who abandons a senior citizen they’re responsible for can be jailed for up to 3 months, and/or be made to pay a fine of up to five thousand rupee.
Right to a dignified life and careful planning of post-retirement life
A majority of calls that they receive, Rekha says, are enquiries about old age homes by both senior citizens and their children. “Everyone has the right to live with dignity. But the people who call for enquires, never say they need it for themselves. They mostly say that they are asking on behalf of a friend.”
Remedy
Activist Rekha suggests that individuals need to plan their post-retirement life early on, to ensure they are financially sound, and to avoid such situations.
“We start by educating children, give pre-retirement training programme to people, and also conduct sessions for housewives because they are usually the natural caregivers in a family and they too have to deal with their own stress,” Rekha says.
(Geetha is the founder of Powerful Teachers, an organisation that works for the welfare of senior citizens)
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