New York: In a message released for World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that such abuse is an “unacceptable attack on human dignity and human rights.”
He said that things get worsen as most of cases often remain unreported and unaddressed.
In his statement, the Secretary General urged Governments and all concerned actors to design and carry out more effective prevention strategies and stronger laws and policies to address all aspects of elder abuse.
“Let us work together to optimize living conditions for older persons and enable them to make the greatest possible contribution to our world,” Ban Ki-moon added.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that between 4 and 6 per cent of older persons worldwide have suffered from a form of elder abuse — physical, emotional, financial. Furthermore, emerging research suggests that abuse, neglect and violence against older persons, both at home and in institutions, are much more prevalent than currently acknowledged.
Alarmed at this widening problem, the United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, a new observance to be marked annually on 15 June.