Elder abuse in India’s urban settings: evidence-based reflections from old-age homes across a few select cities

Purpose The purpose of the study, which is an extension of the corresponding author’s PHD work, is to assess the nature, scope and extent of elder abuse in India’s urban settings. It tries to explore the reasons as to why elder abuse is increasing and tends to suggest how a futuristic law may help in resolving the issue. Design/methodology/approach The design of the study is qualitative and uses both doctrinal and empirical approaches to reach summarized findings. The apriori theoretical generalizations of the paper are augmented by means of empirical data collected through cross-sectional field surveys conducted in old-age homes across a few select cities of India. A total of 86 respondents (51 women and 35 men) participated in the surveys. Findings Out of the 86 older adults, 28 respondents had reported abuse for a prevalence of 32.6%. The prevalence of abuse was 19.6% in female respondents and 51.4% in male respondents. Sons followed by daughters were the main abusers. Research limitations/implications The empirical part of the study examines elder abuse with reference to the urban settings and does not advert to the rural settings. Another limitation (in reference to the empirical part) is that the size of the sample (86 older adults) is relatively small to reach broad generalizations regarding the prevalence of elder abuse. Yet another limitation is the skewed gender ratio of the survey respondents. Originality/value This study bears contemporary policy and legal relevance because India is contemplating amending the provisions of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 to bestow liability on the perpetrators of elder abuse.