Brasilia-. More than 47,000 complaints of elder abuse (over 60 years old) in Brazil have been registered with the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship (MDHC) for the first five months of the year today.
The portfolio shows that this figure corresponds to approximately 282,000 violations of rights such as physical and psychological aggression, negligence and financial or material exploitation.
Each allegation may involve more than one type of infringement.
The number of human rights violations is 87 percent higher in 2022 compared to the same period.
From January to May 2022, more than 150,000 violations were recorded based on more than 30,000 complaints. The figures come from the National Ombudsman for Human Rights.
According to the National Survey Using Continuous Household Samples by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, the Brazilian population aged 60 years or older accounted for 14.7 percent of the total population in 2022. In absolute numbers, there are about 31.2 million people.
To counteract the violence suffered by older people and to raise public awareness of the importance of the issue, the MDHC presented the “Violet June” campaign this week.
The month-long campaign marked June 15 as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.
The date has been officially recognized by the United Nations Organization since 2011.
For this reason, the main day of the Violet June campaign will be June 15th, with the commitment that every citizen can change this reality.
The National Secretary for the Rights of the Elderly of the MDHC, Alexandre da Silva, assured that during the mobilization in June “various actions will be carried out to raise awareness, to raise awareness and this great evil that can affect more than 32 million people, to minimize.”
The aim is to start a big debate, learn more about the experiences that have produced results and review those that have been ineffective and affect older people, from a minor attack to physical, psychological and inherited attacks, explained he.
For the Minister of Human Rights and Citizenship, Silvio Almeida, protecting, defending and promoting the rights of people aged 60 and over should be state policy.
The World Health Organization defines elder abuse as actions that compromise their physical and emotional integrity and prevent or negate their social role.