Nuclear families violate human rights of elderly: Study

New Delhi, Apr 11: Increasing popularity of nuclear families is violating the human rights of senior citizens in India who end up living a lonely life, which in turn has a negative impact on their emotional and physical well being, says a recent study.

There is lack of awareness among older persons about their human rights and they face discrimination due to old age, adds the pan India study conducted by Delhi-based NGO Agewell Foundation, which works for the welfare of the senior citizens.

It is based on a representative sample of 50,000 senior citizens (29000 from rural areas and 21000 from urban areas) spread across 300 districts covering 25 states and Union Territories.

"In today's fast paced life, even basic needs and rights of many of the senior citizens are not addressed.

Social marginalisation, loneliness, isolation and even negligence in old age lead to violation of their human rights.

Our study aims to assess the ground situation and find ways to address it," says Himanshu Rath, founder, Agewell Foundation.

60.54 per cent older persons interviewed during survey were found living alone or in nuclear families. Interestingly, 22,250 respondents said they would like to live in a joint family but their circumstances do not allow them.

The study reveals that the violation of human rights of older persons is higher in urban areas of the country in comparison to rural areas. 85.9 per cent of the total older persons interviewed had never heard about human rights.

The situation is critical in rural areas, as only 4.81 per cent senior citizens said that they have heard about human rights. The situation is slightly better in urban areas, where 28.04 per cent older persons expressed knowledge about human rights.

More than half (53 per cent) of the total respondents were found to be illiterate, according to the study. 18938 out of 29000 senior citizens in rural areas and 7584 out of 21000 in urban areas were in the category of illiterates.

PTI