Elderly abuse: A problem on the

ageing population in the Philippines

Megi May C. Lindayag

SOC 170

March 26, 2013

Background

The United Nations estimated in 1950 that there were approximately 200 million
persons with the age of 60 years and older throughout the world. By the year 1965, the
population of elderly people had increased to 350 million. The United Nations had projected
that by the year 2000, the number will increase to 590 million and by the year 2025 to over
1.1 billion that indicates an increase of 224 percent since 1975. 45 years from now, it is
projected that the ageing population will constitute 13.7 percent of the world’s population
(Carlos, 1999). By the year 2012, the estimated population of the Philippines is 103, 775,
002, and 5.6 % of the population are considered the elder population. Elders in the Filipino
community pertain to people aged from 60 and above.

Asian societies like the Philippines give big importance to respecting elderly. High
premium on preserving the dignity of our older person and put them in an exalted place in
society. This kind of attitude towards the elderly is evident in our history. The source of
wisdom during the pre-colonial period was the elderly. Our customs and traditions were kept
and passed by them to younger generations. Hence, the influences in the enrichment of the
country’s institution they left are indeed disregarded (Carlos, 1999).

The world has become a female world. What is observed in the Philippines and even
globally is the feminization of the older population. It was since 1980 that the elderly women
have outnumbered their male counterparts. The phenomenon that explains this occurrence
is the longer life expectancy of women by five to ten years than males, thus, having a
tendency to outlive them (Carlos, 1999).

Elderly abuse

Elderly abuse is defined as a single, or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action,

occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust that causes harm or
distress to an older person. It can take various forms such as physical, psychological or
emotional, sexual, financial abuse and caregiver neglect. Elder abuse can also be a result of
unintentional or intentional neglect.

Physical abuse is when there any form of hitting takes place up to the most relentless
act of severe beatings and restraining with ropes and chains. When an unnecessary pain or
injury is felt even if just an enough force was given by any person to an elderly, it can be
considered as an abusive behaviour towards them. It also includes the inappropriate use of
medications and physical restraints and physical punishment of any kind.

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 From the name calling or giving the “silent treatment” to intimidating and threatening
an elderly, a psychological, verbal or emotional abuse happens. When the behaviour of a
person causes fear, mental anguish or emotional pain or distress to an elderly that behaviour
can be thought as abusive. Yelling, swearing and making insulting or disrespectful
comments towards elders can be regarded as forms of emotional or verbal abuse. On the
other hand, when any type of coercive or threatening behaviour that sets up a power
differential between the older adult and other person, physical abuse is involved. Even
treating the older person as a child and isolating the person from other people and regular
activities through force, threats or manipulative behaviour can be considered as an abusive
behaviour towards elderly people.

Any action from sexual exhibition to rape is regarded as sexual abuse. It involves
inappropriate touching, photographing the person in suggestive poses, forcing the person to
look at pornography, forcing sexual contact with a third party or any unwanted sexualized
behaviour. Nudity is also included. It is the most extreme abuse but least reported type of
elder abuse.

Financial abuse is when an elderly person’s funds are misused or stolen. Exploitation
is also under financial abuse where fraud, taking money under false pretensions, forgery,
forced property transfers, purchasing expensive items with the older person’s money without
that person’s knowledge or permission or denying the older person’s access to his/her own
funds or home. The improper use of legal guardianship arrangements, powers of attorney or
conservatorships are also included.

The act that withholds attention from the individual to intentionally failing to meet the
physical, social or emotional needs of the older person is an indicator of caregiver neglect.
Failure to provide food, water, clothing, medications and assistance with activities of daily
living or help with the personal hygiene of an older person is an act regarded as caregiver
neglect.

As the elder population multiplies it can be said that the incidence of elder abuse will
also multiply. It is about time that we recognize the seriousness of the problem and take
steps to prevent it (Santiago, 2008).

Existence of the problem

“Ang patuloy na paglaki ng bilang ng mga matatanda ay nangangahulugan din ng

paglawak ng mga kaakibat na isyu na dapat matugunan. Dahil ang mga matatanda ay

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mahalagang bahagi pa rin ng komunidad, ang kanilang mga pangangailangan ay dapat
bigyan ng kaukulang pansin at malalim na pang-intindi. Ang pag-galang sa mga matatanda

ay isa sa mga mahahalagang kaugaliang makakapagbigay ng inspirasyon sa pag-unawa ng

kanilang kasalukuyang kalagayan. Ang mga isyu na hinaharap ng mga matatanda

ay malawak at magkakaugnay. Bukod sa pensyon, at mgapangangailangang pinansiyal,

mahalagang bagay rin sa kanila ang kalusugan at ang pagkakaroon ng tagapangalaga”
(Carlos, 1999).

“Ang mga matatanda ay hindi dapat tingnan bilang pabigat sa komunidad, sa halip ay
maaari pa rin silang maging kapaki-pakinabang na mamamayan kahit sa pinakasimpleng
paraan. Kailangang bigyang pansin ang mga programa at patakaran ng pamahalaan na
mahalagang makakatulong sa kabuhayan ng mga matatanda, kinakailangang malaman at
maintindihan ng maayos ang kanilang kalagayan at mga isyung kanilang kinakaharap”
(Carlos, 1999).

In the Philippines, there are four significant concerns of the elderly. One is security in
old age, second is health status, third is impact of aging, and lastly, occurrence of abuse
committed against the elderly.

The abuse of older people by family members and other persons dates back to
ancient times. Until the addressed of child abuse and domestic violence in the last quarter of
the 20th century, the problem on the said issue, it remained as a private matter, hidden from
public view. At first, it was seen as a social welfare issue and afterwards, as a problem of
ageing, abuse of the elderly, just like the other forms of family violence. After considering it
as a problem, subsequently it has developed into a public health and criminal justice
concern. The fields of public health and criminal justice have therefore dictated to a large
extent how abuse of the elderly is viewed, analyzed, and how it is dealt with (WHO, 2002).

Elder abuse was originally noted as mistreatment of older people that was first
describes in British scientific journals in 1975 under the term “granny battering”. Considering
it as a social and political issue, it was the United States Congress that first seized on the
problem, followed later by researchers and practitioners. The scientific researches during
1980’s and government actions during that time were reported from Australia, Canada,
China, Norway, Sweden and the United States. The next following decade, Argentina, Brazil-
Chile, India, Israel, japan, South Africa, the United Kingdom and other European countries
reported the same problem. Indeed, it was first identified in developed countries, where the
facilities that can provide existing researches on issues can be found, yet, anecdotal

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evidence and other reports from some developing countries like the Philippines have
emerged that have shown that elder abuse is a universal phenomenon (WHO, 2002).

History on how abuse of the elderly started is hard to be rooted, making it as a

private issue made it hard to be recognized. According to the representatives of the World
Health Organization (WHO) and other experts, the problem of violence against the elderly
seems to be growing as the world now has a greater number of nations with aging
populations. It is estimated that more than 10,000 people in 46 countries around the world
are subject to physical violence every day, according to “World report on violence and
health” released by WHO this year. On a yearly basis, one million old people are subject to
sexual abuse while 29 million are subject to psychological abuse and about 6 million are
subject to financial abuse. How these figures illustrate the increasing number of abuse
shows how elderly abuse can be considered as a growing problem. Especially in the growing
or developing countries like ours, with increasing aging populations, elderly abuse will
become a significant problem in terms of society’s health over the next 25 years (WHO,
2011). Data also from the World Health Organization (2011) report and other studies also
indicate that elderly people with physical disabilities or mental disorders are more prone to
violence and abuse. Additional to that, creating awareness, better social education and
tougher inspections could prevent elderly abuse.

Little response or recognition, in many parts of the world, is given to elder abuse. Still
up to now, the considered serious social problem was hidden from the public view and taken
mostly as a private matter. Even today, elder abuse continues to be a taboo, frequently
underestimated and ignored by societies across the world. Additional evidences are there to
indicate how important public health and societal problem elder abuse is.

The growing worldwide concern about human rights and gender equality, as well as
about domestic violence and population ageing reflect how elder abuse should be taken far
more seriously now. The realization that in the coming decade, in both developing and
developed countries, there will be dramatic increase in the population in the older segment,
concern over elder abuse should be heightened. By the year 2025, it is predicted that the
global population of those aged 60 years and older will be more than double, from 542
million in 1995 to about 1.2 billion. In developing countries like the Philippines, the prediction
given was the older people’s population will be more than double by 2025. It will
approximately reach 850 million that will be 12 % of the overall population of the developing
world (WHO, 2012).

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 Elder abuse is a problem that exists in both developing and developed countries yet
is typically underreported globally. Prevalence rates or estimates exist only in selected
developed countries - ranging from 1% to 10%. Although the extent of elder mistreatment is
unknown, its social and moral significance is obvious. As such, it demands a global
multifaceted response, one which focuses on protecting the rights of older persons.

Factors affecting the existence of the problem

Social and cultural factors may contribute to violence against older people. The
societal factors that are included, which triggers violence against older people and make it
easier to do an act abusing them without detection or intervention, are devaluation od and
lack of respect for older adults and the belief of the society that what goes on in the home is
a private, family matter. When the importance of assuring dignified, supportive and non-
abusive life circumstances for every older person are hardly recognized by the society, the
older people becomes insignificant.

Considering what happens at home is something private is one of the factors that can
result to locking a person to an abusive or neglectful situation. People who are not part of the
family who may either observe or suspect abuse or neglect may fail to intervene because of
the notion that it’s their family’s problem, so it is none of their business or it could be
because they are afraid that they are misinterpreting a private quarrel. The revelation that
abuse exists in one’s family is said to be hard because of the shame and embarrassment
that it will bring to their family after the revelations. .

For the cultural factors influencing elder abuse, factors are rooted from certain
values, beliefs and traditions influencing family dynamics, intergenerational relationships and
ways in which families define their roles and responsibilities and respond to daily challenges.
The differences in beliefs and traditions make some situation appear to be complicated in
determining if it is abuse or neglect. Though culture may vary across diverse cultural, ethnic
and religious communities, the importance of considering the signs of abuse by attributing
the behaviour to cultural differences must not be ignored.

Addressing the Problem and Solutions

The original act concerning the welfare of the senior citizen is the amended RA 7432
which is “An act to maximize the contribution of senior citizens to nation building, grant
benefits and special privilege and for other purposes”. It is further expanded to RA 9257 or

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the expanded senior citizens act of 2003 and expanded again in RA 9994 which is the
expanded senior citizens act of 2010.

The intent behind the RA 9994 is the social welfare legislation intended to benefit our
Filipino elderly and provide them additional privileges. It became effective on April 22, 2010.
It was on March 28, 2012 that it was publishes in the Philippines Daily inquirer and in the
Business Mirror on the 7th of April 2010. It was the Department of Social Welfare and
development, in consultation with other government agencies, senior citizen, Non-
government officials and other stakeholders, who had 60 days for the law to be effective to
draft the new implementing rules and regulations to provide specific and operationalize the
new senior citizen law. It was effective on July 6, 2010.

From the article XII Section 11 of the constitution of the Philippines, it is stated that
the state shall adopt an integrated and comprehensive approach to health development
which shall endeavour to make essential goods, health and other social services available to
all the people at affordable cost. Priority should be given for the needs of the
underprivileged, sick, elderly, disabled women and children. The Article XV Section 4 of the
Philippine Constitution further declares that it is the duty of taking care of elderly member is
in the hands of its family members while the state may design programs of social security for
them.

Being consistent with the said principles, RA 9994 serve the objectives of, first,
recognizing the rights of senior citizens to take their proper place in the society and make it a
concern of the family, community and the government. Second is to give full support to the
improvement of the total well-being of the elderly and their full participation in society,
considering that senior citizens are integral part of the Philippine society. Third, is to motivate
and encourage the senior citizens to contribute to nation building. Fourth, is to encourage
their families and the communities they live with to reaffirm the valued Filipino tradition of
caring for senior citizens. Fifth is to provide a comprehensive health care rehabilitation
system for disabled senior citizens to foster their capacity to attain a more meaningful and
productive ageing. Lastly, is to recognize the important role of the private sector in the
improvement of the welfare of senior citizens and to actively seek their partnership.

With the given objectives of the RA 9994, the act shall, first, establish mechanisms
for the maximization of the contributions of the senior citizens. Second, adopt measures as a
community in whole whereby our senior citizens are assisted and appreciated. Third,
establish programs in which the senior citizens, their families and the rest of the community

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they serve are the beneficiaries. Lastly, establish a community-based health and
rehabilitation programs for senior citizens in every political unit of society.

Specific bill passed addressing the abuse of the elderly was the senate bill no. 1344
by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago. The bill seeks to ensure that older or disabled
persons are protected from institutional, community, and domestic violence and sexual
assault and to improve outreach efforts and other services available to order or disabled
persons victimized by such violence (Santiago, 2008).

Conclusion

Out of many issues concerning the conditions of the older people aged 60 and
above, few or even none are addressed well or heard. Seeing it as a problem involved just in
private sphere, issues that could already be severe are not properly raised. Only the brave
souls and other concerned citizens are those who have courage to recognize and report
incidents involving elderly abuse as a social problem.

Elderly abuse as a social problem is a critical issue to consider. Not until all the
needs of the older people are not met, it cannot surely be solved. Also, not until reports and
incidents about it are raised, nothing can be done to secure the cure for the said problem.

Though there are already bills, acts or laws passed addressing the needs and
welfare of the older people, as long as it is not being raised or reported nothing can be done.
It is something private yet if we are to think, a public issue to be marked for the involved
people in the problem are those who are already institutions in our society. The old people
who are significant for the contributions they brought to the society back to the days when
they were as strong and productive as we are today.

Not just the Philippines but also the nations of the world must ensure an environment
where ageing is accepted as a natural part of the cycle. Giving that point, any anti-ageing
attitudes should be eliminated and discouraged. The older people should be given the right
to live in dignity where they are free from abuse and exploitation, and given opportunities to
participate fully in all aspects of the society which could be in cultural, spiritual and economic
activities. We should not make them feel insignificant for being incapable of doing the usual
things like before. Ageing should not be a standard on how they should be treated. Rather,
ageing should mark the act of giving back to the older people the days of hard work and the
contributions they had given to the society that we have today.

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Ageing and life course. Retrieved on March 19, 2013 from

http://www.who.int/ageing/projects/elder_abuse/en/.

Carlos, C. (1999). Concerns for the elderly in the Philippines. Retrieved on March 20, 2013
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Elderly abused and neglect: In search for solutions. Retrieved on March 21, 2013 from
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Elder serve act of 2008, S. No. 2951, 14th Congress of the republic of the Philippines, 2008.

Expanded seniors citizen act of 2010, , 14th Congress of the Republic of the Philippines,
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Krug, E et al., eds. (2002). World report on violence and health. World Health Organization

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