By Kim Rahn
A 90-year-old woman in northern Seoul, surnamed Choi, called a counseling call center for the elderly for help last February. She said she was beaten by her 56-year-old daughter, sustaining bruises all over her body and was bleeding from the head.
Staff from the center went to Choi’s house, took her to a hospital for medical treatment and transferred her to a temporary shelter. They also hospitalized the daughter for examination in a mental health center.
Choi returned home after a three-week recovery at the shelter.
A growing number of senior citizens are falling victim to abuse, in a society with an aging population.
According to a data released by Seoul City, more and more elderly people are seeking counseling for maltreatment — the number of calls to counseling centers in the capital increased by 26.6 percent on average every year for the last three years, to 1,060 in 2011 from 669 in 2009.
Mental abuse is the most common complaint, followed by physical abuse or negligence.
But the true extent of abuse against senior citizens is not yet known because family members are often the perpetrators.
More than 90 percent of offenders are family members, including sons, daughters, spouses and daughters-in-law of the victims.
Separate research carried out by the Ministry of Health and Welfare last year showed that 13.8 percent of the nation’s senior citizens, or 764,000 people, have experienced abuse, while only 0.45 percent of them reported this to police or other types of help centers.
“People think it’s a domestic matter, hide abuse and avoid reporting incidents. Even if a case is reported by the victims themselves or by others, in many cases victims don’t want offenders to be punished because they are often their own children. So many cases close without any resolution so the abuse is repeated. Covering up is the cause of abuse increasing,” a city official said.
To fight this, the city government has come up with measures that provide heavier punishments for offenders, whether they are family members or workers in welfare facilities for the elderly.
For habitual family offenders, complaints will be sought. “At the Elderly Protection Agency, we have welfare counselors, law professionals, doctors and police officers who give counseling and inspect scenes of abuse. If they conclude a case amounts to serious mistreatment it is subject to serious punishment, and the agency will file a complaint against the offender on behalf of the victim,” the official said.
If an abuse case takes place at a care center for senior citizens, the center will be immediately closed. Workers or operators of such centers who actually committed the abuse will have their welfare license cancelled.
An inspectors’ group comprised of lawyers, educators and former welfare workers will also be regularly dispatched to nine welfare centers run by the city to monitor any abuses happening there.