Elder Victimization: Sociological Perspective

Abstract

India is a country which is known for its family value system, care and respect for elderly in their grey years of life. This picture has faded away with the passage of time, from considering “old as gold” these elderlies have now become “old as load”. According to 2011 Census, population of elderly persons is around 104 million which is expected to rise to 173 million by 2026. NCRB Report shows that elders are becoming vulnerable to crime by each passing year, which has posed a serious threat. The major reason for rise of such threat is low reporting of cases and silence towards the issue of ‘neglect’. And this situation of abuse and neglect becomes worst when the perpetrator of such abuse is a relative or family member. For the protection of these elders, in 2007, “Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act” came into picture, but how far it has achieved the purpose is still a major question before us. In this paper, the author will try to look into various types of abuses and elder victimization by society and different perpetrators of crime. By this paper, endeavor would be to draw a conclusion about the major issues behind non-reporting of these cases by the elderly person including lack of awareness, societal imposition of ‘farz’, confidentiality of family matter and sometimes blood relatives being a perpetrator that ends up in continuing abuse and neglect, which further leads to normalization of such crime against elderly persons.