BENGALURU: A survey conducted across different cities in the country has revealed that Bengaluru is the biggest perpetrator of crimes against elders in public spaces. As many as 70 per cent of the elders who were surveyed in the city reported abuse.
The survey conducted by
HelpAge India covered 19 cities where at least 4,500 elders were surveyed. It found that Bengaluru topped the list of elders who said that they were abused.
The report ‘How India Treats its Elderly’ was released by HelpAge India to mark World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.
The report was released in the city on Wednesday. Manjira Khurana, country head, communications and advocacy, HelpAge India, said, “The core of it all is ageism — a discrimination based on age. Simple things like assuming that elders can understand technology, being impatient, pushing an elder in hurry and ignoring their utility due to age are just a few things,” she added.
The survey asked the respondents a set of questions which included whether they perceived Indian society to be discriminatory against elders. The highest number of respondents (90 per cent) in Hyderabad said that it was true and 60 per cent in Bengaluru agreed.
Some 70 per cent of the senior citizens in Bengaluru told the surveyors that they feared the motorists on road. Respondents in Lucknow and Mumbai also responded similarly.
Bengaluru might be treating its elders relatively better at banks, malls and private sector hospitals. However, they are at the receiving end of abuse by vegetable vendors, post office staff and other government set ups. Asked about public transport in the city, elders said they were ill treated by bus conductors while the experience at Metro was good. Unlike in buses where the conductors abused them while giving tickets, they said that Metro had a convenient system in place to buy tickets.