Fwd: [sss-global] RISE IN ABUSE OF ELDERS UNFORTUNATE - JUSTICE LOKUR

Rise in abuse of elders unfortunate: Justice Lokur
Lok adalat for Elders in Hyderabad inaugurated.

PTI | 10:06 PM,Jun 15,2012

Hyderabad, Jun 15 (PTI) Terming the rise in incidents of abuse of elders as unfortunate, Supreme Court judge Justice Madan B Lokur today stressed on the need to tackle the issue with seriousness. "Though there are a large number of incidents of the abuse of elders, society for one reason or the other seems to ignore them often due to circumstances because senior citizens are not able to report it," he said here today. He was speaking after inaugurating a first-of-its-kind Senior Citizens Lok Adalat Bench here. "The abuse of elders is not something new, but has been in existence for many years. We need to tackle this problem with all seriousness," he said. Referring to a report of Helpage India, Lokur said "Elders undergo some or the other kind of abuse, mainly from their children. It is sad that large number of elders in different cities are abused by persons within their families. Many of these cases go unreported due to the stigma attached to it that how can one go against his or her own family members!" "We do not know the magnitude of this problem...but it does not mean that these cases do not exist. It is important for us to realise and acknowledge that there is a problem and must go a step forward and find out a solution," he added. The World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is aimed at identifying the problem and also a solution to it, he said. Apart from helping in resolving the civil and criminal cases pertaining to senior citizens, the Senior Citizens Lok Adalat will have wide spectrum of duties and responsibilities, Lokur said. He added that the Lok Adalat could take up issues with the government and authorities, where senior citizens find problems in getting their work done. "We are looking at resolution of issues that senior citizens face. I hope Senior Citizens Lok Adalat will carry out its functions effectively and to the satisfaction of elders," he said.

Source:

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/rise-in-abuse-of-elders-unfortunate-justice-lokur/1012488.html 

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V.RAGHAVENDRA RAO