The Indignity of Elder Abuse

An Ongoing Project for Protection of Elders from Abuse

Objectives

A Responsive Social Support system for senior citizens subjected to Elder Abuse: Offer of protection from physical violence from within and outside the family Offer of emotional support through trained counsellors Offer of strategies for coping with difficult circumstances Offer of legal advice and assistance Offer of help to obtain admission in Old Age Homes if warranted Offer of counselling to family members for better treatment to the elders

Background of Existing Services

Dignity Companionship and Dignity Helpline are two integral parts of a number of services already being rendered by Dignity Foundation. The objective of these two services is to extend a social support system to the lonely, depressed and abused senior citizens. In 15 years of dialogue with the seniors, Dignity Foundation has come across the painful reality of physical and mental abuse to which seniors are subjected by their children.

The Helplines in all the five cities haveseveral cases of actual abuse, as reported by the victims and/or their relatives/neighbours. Every time a newspaper carried an article on elder abuse, our offices are normally flooded with callers and visitors reporting abuse and/or seeking help.

Nature of Assistance Rendered

Dignity volunteers are themselves senior in age. In each city we have carefully cultivated and trained volunteers in social counseling and orientation to typical issues. They receive training in simple skills of counselling and help rendering. Typically, after the call is received by Dignity Helpine , the coordinator informs and directs the volunteer, who lives in the vicinity of the caller/victim , to visit the senior citizen, get to know more about the situation and give him/her counsel/assistance.

Dignity volunteers had found that in many cases, their counselling by itself was not enough. They wanted different types of assistance, such as:

• Police help or threat when the errant "child" can be warned to treat the parent better . Or utilising police authority to take corrective action such as emergency assistance and rescue from impending violence.
• A lawyer's help in advising us and the victim on matters relating to property.
• A psychiatrist's/psychotherapist's/ Counsellor's help in treating depression that is common among abused parents or in helping the parent to cope better with circumstances. Many times the parent has no option but to learn to put up with the situation. Suicide contemplation is also very common among harassed parents.

First Collaborative Action

With Police

In each city through special arrangements with the Police instant attention to the problems faced by the senior citizens are taken up. Police intervention ,if efficient and bold, can help resolve issues. Sometimes the Police are helpful and sometimes their lip sympathy alone does not mend matters.

Second Collaborative Action

With Advocates

Advocates keenon doing social work are approached by Dignity Foundation and their services are made available in the Foundation office premises at all the five cities. Clinets are encouraged to come for legal counseling and filing of cases at appropriate courts, and also advise on good lawyers who would represent the abused parent/s. Assistance is also provided in successfully bringing to the notice of the High Court the agony suffered by aggrieved parents who had filed cases of harassment, trespass etc. but had not had a hearing for as long as twenty years.

Legal assistance is also provided in the form of informative articles which find a regular place in the magazine Dignity Dialogue published every month.

The Third Collaboration Action

With Specialists Team - Reconciliation Forum

With a view to step up the solution-stage nearer to the needs of the elder in the abused condition, we have created Specialist Teams -- consisting of one Retired Judge, one Retired Police Officer at a IPS Senior level, one Retired Chief Secretary of the Government, one Psychiatric Counsellor/Social Worker.

Dignity Foundation puts up only such cases where it thinks that more pressure needs to be applied on the warring parties to come to an amicable undestanding. If the Specialist Team is composed of individuals of high status and eminent standing it is the hope of the Foundation that their recommendation to the warring parties will prevail and heeded to.

The Specialist Team undertakes to study selected cases presented by Dignity Foundation after the latter has fully investigated and also applied all whatever reconciliation/negotiation skills it can through its dedicated network of Volunteers to bring about a solution to the abused senior citizen.

The objective is to avoid going to the Court if it can be helped. This is something like the Family Court, but without the sanction of the state government.