hankyoreh

By Choi Sung-jin and Park Su-ji, staff reporters

A new report released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare show four out of ten senior citizen abuse victims last year were abused by a son. Family members, including spouses, daughters, children-in-law, and grandchildren, accounted for fully 75.7 percent of reported abuse cases.

The Ministry’s figures on elder abuse, acquired on June 13 through New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) Lawmaker In Jae-keun, who also serves on the National Assembly Committee on Gender Equality and Family, show family members accounting for the majority of reported abuse. Of the 4,013 cases of abuse reported to senior citizen protection agencies, a total of 1,619, or 40.3 percent, involve abuse by sons. Spouses came in a distant second, with 551 cases (13.7 percent), followed by daughters (519 cases, 13.0 percent).

Data on the type of abuse show 2,235 cases of emotional abuse (38.3 percent), 1,430 of physical abuse (24.5 percent), 1,087 of neglect (18.6 percent), and 526 of economic abuse (9.0 percent). In some cases, multiple types of abuse are reported. In addition, reports of abuse are found to be on the rise. The number of reported cases received by senior citizen protection agencies around the country has risen from 2,674 in 2009 to 3,068 in 2010 and 3,441 in 2011. The number fell slightly to 3,424 in 2012, but 3,520 cases were reported in 2013. Comparison of 2009 and 2013 figures show a 31.6 percent rise in the space of five years.

While abuse case reports are on the rise, survey data show a somewhat mixed response from the seniors themselves. When asked in a 2011 survey how they would react if subjected to abuse, just 40.7 percent of seniors surveyed say they would report it to a protection agency, the police, or their local neighborhood community center. In comparison, 36.3 percent say they would simply “put up with it,” a difference of only 3.7 percentage points. Lawmaker In says, “Senior citizen abuse is rising in tandem with the increasing elderly population, and this is not just a personal issue anymore, but an issue for all of society.” In added, “We need to improve our social services policy for seniors and make more resources available for senior citizen welfare.”

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