Family members raise awareness about mistreatment against the elder: Citizen Council

There’s an 11.5% increase in reports of abuse and abandonment made by people who are close to the victims, especially in relation with physical, emotional and housing-related violence.

The family circle was established this year as the main denouncer of physical, emotional and housing-related mistreatment against the elder, as established by the Citizen Council for Safety and Justice in Mexico City.

Within the framework of Awareness of Abuse and Mistreatment against the Elder World Day, the organism informed an increase of 11.5% of reports made by a family member of victims at the Silver Line or Trustworthy Chat, compared with 2020.

“Older people’s vulnerability worsened due to the pandemic; now it’s time to establish and strengthen a culture of denunciation as a fundamental tool to activate attention circuits that allow reducing the number of aggressions,” Salvador Guerrero Chipres, President of the Citizen Council, declared.

Data shows that 21.7% of denunciations comes from children, 14% from people the victims know, 7.1% from neighbors, 6.5% of grandchildren and the rest come from other family members, spouses or caretakers.

The organism informed that this increase in the number of reports reflected a greater interest for this sector’s well-being, a sector that is considered one of the most vulnerable, and a greater participation of family members of neighbors who want to denounce violence or collaborate in the attention, accompaniment and care.

Also, data from the Citizen Council reveal an increase of 46% in the combination of physical, emotional and housing-related violence this year in comparison with 2020, and 35% more housing-related and emotional aggressions against older people.

The closest people to the victims are those who are more frequently the abusers. In more than half of the cases it’s their children, followed by other family members, the spouse and in lesser times, grandchildren.

Women are more vulnerable to these situations, in a 2-1 proportion in comparison with men, and considering an age range, most people are between 70 and 79 years of age, although there was an increasing the 60-69 year-old population.

Reports for mistreatment and abandonment increased by 93.7% during the first five months of the year, compared with the same period of 2020, by going from 370 to 717 cases.

As a result of the coordination and articulation with the General Attorney’s Office in Mexico City, between 2020 and 20201 the Council has contributed with opening 98 investigation files.

In Mexico City, 19% of the reports come from Iztapalapa, 15% from Gustavo A. Madero, 8% from Alvaro Obregon and Cuauhtémoc, each, and 7% from Coyoacan.

The Citizen Council has the Silver Line and Trustworthy Chat 55 5533 5533 through which they offer free legal and psychological aid, 24/7, nationwide