The data provided by Elders Helpline 1090 and Elderline 14567 has revealed that elder abuse increased by 251% post lockdown.
While there were 193 and 229 complaints of abuse in 2020-21 and 2021-22, respectively, in 2022-23, the number of reported cases shot up to 575 in the city. While verbal abuse is the most prominent, amounting to 35%, it was followed by physical abuse (30%). The reasons were mostly property-related, money-related, or family disputes. In 52.19% of these cases, sons were the primary abusers.
While the Elders Helpline 1090 is a joint project of Nightingales Medical Trust and the Bengaluru City Police, Elderline is an initiative of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, along with the Department for the Empowerment of Differently Abled and Senior Citizens, Government of Karnataka.