19 Challenges Faced by the Elderly

Ms. Krithika B. S.

1. LEARNING OUTCOMES

• To understand the broad realities of old age in the contemporary world.
• To enable a deeper understanding of the various challenges being faced by the elderly and the rights that stand violated as a result.
• To enable the development of perspectives on the status of the elderly.

2. INTRODUCTION

Ageing comes with varied challenges. The cultural misconceptions and stereotypes pose diverse problems to the elderly. Further, with the fact being that the older persons are not a homogenous group, the challenges they face in the protection or enjoyment of their human rights vary greatly. Loss of independence is a potential part of the process of ageing, as are waning physical abilities and age discrimination. While some continue to lead active lives as part of their community, many others face homelessness, lack of adequate care or isolation. However, none of these justify the necessity for the elderly to enter old age without dignity. It is for this reason that the different human rights of the elderly, as discussed in the previous section, are being recognised and acknowledged.

3. CHALLENGES FACED BY THE ELDERLY

In order to appreciate the importance of the various human rights the elderly are entitled to, it is necessary to understand the challenges faced by them during the process of entering old age. Some of the major challenges that the elderly face in the society can be summarised as follows.

3.1. Ageism

Discrimination against the aged is a social problem that has its roots in the industrial era. With the transformation from agrarian economy to an industrial economy, the social standing of the elderly gradually diminished with the corroding of the traditional respect for the elderly. Society started viewing the aged as a burden and thus arose the concept of ageism. ‘Ageism’ implies “discrimination based on age”.

Multiple discriminations is also an essential component, particularly when considering the age-related discrimination which is often compounded by other grounds of discrimination, such as sex, socio-economic status, ethnicity, or health status. Such a treatment tends to lower the self-esteem of the elderly and will have various psychological implications. It can make them feel a lack of power and control over their daily living situations. Further, ageism makes the elderly vulnerable to abuse. They might be denied access to health care, work, education, voting etc., based on their age. Such kind of discrimination leads to the social exclusion of the elderly and their isolation.

3.2. Lack of Health Care

LACK OF HEALTH CARE

• Right to Life
• Right to Highest Attainable Standard of Health
• Right to Care and Assistance
• Right not to be treated in a degrading way
• Right of Information

Failing health goes hand in hand with the advancing age. This issue is further complicated by the non-availability of timely good quality and age-sensitive health care for a large portion of the elderly. The aged face issues like poor accessibility to health care services, lack of information and knowledge, high costs of treatment, lack of assistance, inappropriate medication etc. Thus, it is the need of the hour to provide easy access to good quality health care in an age-sensitive manner to all the elderly with the necessary care and support including financial support like health insurances etc.

3.3. Economic Insecurity

ECONOMIC INSECURITY

• Right to Life
• Right to Adequate Standard of Living
• Right not to be discriminated against
• Right not to be treated in a degrading way
• Right to work and other employment rights
• Right to peaceful enjoyment of possessions
• Right to Social Security
• Right of Information

The elderly increasingly are facing the problem of economic insecurity either owing to the lack of opportunity or capacity. Societal mind-sets, limited access to resources, lack of awareness of their rights and entitlements and the waning of their physical and mental faculties all play a major role in challenging the economic security of the elderly and their independence. Loss of employment can also said to be a major cause for the financial insecurity of the aged. With the growing economic insecurity, the elderly become more and more dependent on the younger generations which in turn deprives them of their independence. Discrimination in workplace, forced retirements, barriers in accessing the welfare benefits also contribute to their insecurity and dependence.

SOCIAL EXCLUSION AND ISOLATION

• Right to Life
• Right to Dignity
• Right not to be discriminated against
• Right not to be treated in a degrading way
• Right of Participation
• Right of Liberty
• Right to Family Life

3.4. Social Exclusion and Isolation

Isolation and social exclusion is very commonly seen with respect to the elderly. Societal prejudice and family neglect are the root causes of this issue though in few instances isolation can be self-imposed. Many elderly people feel isolated from their families, friends, and community with the difficulty in access to social, cultural and recreational activities as well as the public services like transport, public places like parks etc. forced retirement from employment and the normal course of life also leads to the feeling of loneliness in the elderly. This further aggravates when they are institutionalised in elderly care homes away from their families which is increasingly becoming a common phenomenon in the modern society. The phenomenon of social exclusion of the elderly and feeling of isolation, if not addressed, will have major implications and lead to a tragic deterioration of the quality of life.

The involvement of elderly in the happenings of the society as well as that of the family will inculcate a sense of inclusion in them. Activities centred on elderly persons involving their time and skills will keep them engaged and enable in mainstreaming them into the society.

3.5. Neglect

The need for care and assistance increases with advancing of age. If the necessary care is not provided in a timely manner, the elderly suffer from neglect. The shift from traditional joint families to the present nuclear family structures and the redefined priorities of the modern society are increasingly leading to the neglect of the elderly both by the families as well as the community. Neglect can be of varied forms like lack of interaction, malnutrition, inadequate care, poor hygiene, institutionalisation in elderly care homes etc. Long-term neglect can have major implications on the elderly by disturbing their mental peace which in turn might affect their physical as well as mental health. Community awareness and counselling of families might help in addressing this issue.

NEGLECT

•Right to Life
•Right to Dignity
•Right not to be treated in a degrading way
•Right to Care and Assistance
•Right to Family

3.6. Abuse

NEGLECT

• Right to Dignified Life
• Right not to be treated in a degrading way
• Right to Protection
  Right to Family Life

The elderly are more vulnerable to abuse. Elderly abuse can be of diverse forms like physical, psychological, sexual as well as financial abuse. With the growing discrimination against the aged and the economic insecurity they are facing, the elderly are more prone to abuse. In majority of the cases, the elderly are abused by their caretakers or those close to the victim like family or friends.

Prevention of elderly abuse through the legal interventions, awareness generation and counselling to protect the elderly from the ill-treatment is one of the major pressing issues.

3.7. Detention

One of the recent challenges that the elderly are facing in the modern society is detention. Detention need not necessarily be in prisons. With the increasing trend of nuclear families, more and more elderly are being institutionalised in elderly care homes wherein their movement and interaction with the outside world is restricted. While this is the case with a few, the situation of the age suffering from illnesses especially like that of dementia or Alzheimer’s etc., is more pathetic. Their life is confined to a single room or a house at the best, in majority of the cases. Such restrictions imposed on the elderly will have a direct impact on their quality and standard of life by complicating the issue rather than solving it. The solution to the problem lies in creating awareness, family counselling and most important of all by respecting the aged and treating them with dignity.

3.8. Lack of awareness

Learning Objectives

• Right to Dignified Life
• Right to Education
• Right to Information
• Right of Access to services

The elderly most often experience ignorance. Lack of awareness of their rights is a grave concern. The elderly are unaware of the benefits they are entitled to, the rights they possess or the services they can avail. This lack of awareness in most instances leads to their exploitation. Hence, there is a need for generating awareness on the rights of the elderly.

4. CONCLUSION AND SUMMARY

Advancing of age is coupled with diverse challenges. Social prejudices, narrow mindedness, insufficient legal protection and lack of social awareness and moral values all make the life of the elderly terrifying. Discrimination, fear, idleness, lowered Self-esteem, dependency, lack of privacy have become the harsh realities of old age. Addressing these concerns of the elderly has become a very big challenge to the States as well as the community. Policy interventions coupled with social awareness alone can put an end to the anguish that the elderly are facing in the modern society. Respecting the aged and treating them with dignity is the only solution to the issue. According legal protection to the rights of the elderly will enable to simplify the issue.

Reference

• June 15th of every year is celebrated as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. It was launched in the year 2006.
• Japan celebrates the 3rd Monday of September of every year as “Respect for the Aged Day”. It is designated as a national holiday.
• The main international human rights instruments typically do not mention age per se as a ground of discrimination. However, as the ECSCR put it “Rather than being seen as an intentional exclusion, this omission is probably best explained by the fact that, when these instruments were adopted, the problem of demographic ageing was not as evident or as pressing as it is now”. (ECSCR General Comment No. 6 para 11)
• IN OUR OWN WORDS: What older people say about discrimination and human rights in older age: A consultation by the Global Alliance for the Rights of Older People
• Old Age a curse: Dearth of enabling laws to protect this vulnerable group, by
• Maswood, Syed, All India Reporter (03) 2003: 103-108
• Human Rights of the Elderly: An Emerging Challenge http://www.globalaging.org/elderrights/world/2010/human_rights.pdf
• http://www.ifa-fiv.org/
• https://www.worldwewant2015.org/aging2015