Many older people have their rights violated in a number of ways. Abuse of older people can be physical, psychological, emotional, financial and social.

Such abuse often goes undetected and unreported. Yet growing evidence shows the many ways that older people's rights are abused in daily life.

The right to social security

Many poor older people have no pensions or other forms of social security. This violates their right to social security.

• A study by the Department of Social Development in South Africa concluded that 80% of older black people have no income other than their social pension. 
  Source: Mothers and fathers of the nation: the forgotten people, vol. 2 provincial reports. Department of Social Development, South Africa, 2001.
• A study in Rajasthan, India, found that only 6% of respondents reported having a source of income. 
  Source: Assimilated development of older people in the Thar desert: Baseline survey of socio-economic condition of households and status of the elderly, GRAVIS Jodhpur, 2004

The right to health

Older people have the right to access healthcare that meets their needs.        

• Older people in Bolivia are entitled to free healthcare.  Socio-legal centres supporting older people to claim their entitlements reported that only 32% of those eligible were using the free healthcare scheme. This is due to difficulty in accessing the services and lack of documentation, particularly in rural areas.  
  Source: Defending rights of marginalised old people in Bolivia. HelpAge International fieldwork.
  
• According to a survey undertaken by HelpAge International in Kenya, 3 in every 10 older people in Nanyuki province are abandoned at hospital. 60-70% of the abandoned patients are male. In the survey, an older woman from Misyani province said that she had been turned away with the reproach, “You are not sick, just old". One man observed that he had often heard paramedics at a district hospital discussing how wasteful it was to give precious drugs to old people. 
  Source: Elder abuse in the healthcare services in Kenya, HelpAge International, Kenya, 2001

The right to recognition before the law

Lack of identity documentation is a major barrier preventing older people from claiming entitlements, such as pensions or health services, that are theirs by right.

• A 2005 survey of nearly 4,000 older people in eight communities in Mozambique found that 42% had no identification cards, which they needed to claim free health care. Older women were twice as likely as older men to lack identification cards.
  Source: Baseline report: Community tracking and monitoring in Mozambique, HelpAge International & HIV/AIDS International Alliance, 2006
  
• In Bolivia, 16% of older people have no valid documents to prove their right to claim the social pension (Bonosol). Source: Características socioeconómicos de la población adulta mayor: Encuesta de hogares MECOVI, 2001, HelpAge International and Bolivian National Institute of Statistics, La Paz, 2002.

The right to freedom from violence and the right to life

Many older people, especially older women, are subject to violence and abuse. This violates their right to be free from violence and their right to life when the abuse results in their death.

• According to the Tanzanian Government, 17,220 women were abused between 1998 and 2001 as a result of witchcraft allegations. 10% of these were killed. Across the nine project districts where HelpAge International works, there were 444 "witch" killings between 1999 and 2004. Of these, all except nine were older women. 
  Source: HelpAge International Sukumaland older women’s programme phase 2, London, 2004.
• In India, a rural survey of people aged 70 and over found that 4% had been physically abused. In an urban survey, 20% reported physical neglect and some had been abandoned. 
  Source: Recognising and responding to elder abuse in a global context, Monica Ferreira, D.Phil, Cape Town, 2001
  
• In a survey of older people's organisations carried out by the South African Government's Department of Social Development, 32% of respondents reported that older people were ill-treated. 55% of abusers were grandchildren, 16% children, 20% spouses and 4% carers. 
  Source: Mothers and fathers of the nation: the forgotten people, vol. 1 main report. Department of Social Development, South Africa, 2001

The right to education

Poor older women in developing countries are unlikely to have received any education when they were young or to have access to adult education later in life. Not being able to read or write prevents them from accessing entitlements that are theirs by right.

• In 2003 94% of women over 60 in Mozambique were illiterate (compared to 64% of men over 60).
  Source: National Institute of Statistics, Mozambique.
• In Bolivia, approximately 8 out of every 10 rural older women do not read or write.
  Source: 2001 Bolivia Census Data. National Institute of Statistics, Bolivia.

The right to work

Older people have the same right to work as everyone else. The right to work gives older people the right to freely decide, choose and accept work and the right not to be unfairly deprived of it, for example, based on their age.

• In a survey by Second Breath in Moldova, 77% of older people respondents said that employers would not hire them because of their age.
  Source: Pressing for Rights in Moldova, Ageing and Development, Issue 19, February 2006. HelpAge International. Download Ageing and Development 19.

Rights in emergencies

International humanitarian, human rights and refugee law protects older people affected by conflicts and emergencies, but are not often identified as a vulnerable group in emergency response programmes.

• Two weeks after the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster in December 2004, 1,500 older people surveyed in Cuddalore, India, said they had received little or no aid relief, even though distribution had been underway for some time.
  Source: The impact of the Indian Ocean tsunami on older people, HelpAge International, London, 2005.
• In a recent survey, 51 out of 60 humanitarian agencies worldwide reported having policies that identify particular vulnerable groups. 22 of these gave older people their lowest priority or did not rate them as a priority at all. Only three agencies made older people their top priority.
  Source: Older people in disasters and humanitarian crises: Guidelines for best practice. HelpAge International, London, 2005