Contributed by: Bulgarian Gender Research Foundation, Bulgarian National VAW Monitor

Research shows that 4% of the elderly people who live in their own houses and 30% of those who live in institutions are victims of violence.

The World Elder Abuse Day - the 15th of June - is being marked for the third time by an initiative of the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (INPEA) and the European Older People's Platform - AGE.

This time the two organizations urge the European Commission and the EU member countries towards actions including increasing the awareness of the problem, adopting a common strategy for the EU to prevent violence against elderly people, and ensuring quality long-term care for the elderly.

Violence against elderly people has many different forms. It can be physical, psychological or emotional, sexual, financial, or neglectful.

Inadequate care of the elderly is most often a result of stressed and overworked caretakers unable to cope with the increasing demands they meet rather than the caretaker’s intentional exploitation and harm of the vulnerable elderly.

Violence against the elderly is a violation of paragraph 25 of the charter of the basic EU rights, which acknowledges and respects the right of the elderly to lead a worthy and an independent life and to take part in the social and cultural life of the community.

A recent study by Eurobarometer confirms that almost the half (47%) of the citizens of the EU think that bad attitudes, neglectfulness, and even violence against dependent elderly is a serious problem in their countries.

These records provide indisputable evidence that the European Union must take respective measures. The discussion paper, issued recently by the Commission "What can the European Union do to protect dignity in old age and prevent elder abuse?" is the first step in the right direction, but the serious work is yet to come.

That is why the European Older People's Platform (AGE) pushes for developing the provision of voluntary, qualitative, and long-term care, and for the creation of a work group which will support the European Commission in the development of these projects.

According to the European platform of organizations which work with and for the elderly, the matters of qualitative care and the fight against the violence against elderly people should be an integral part of the renewed social program and should be addressed in the framework of the demographic cycle of the EU.

Violence against the elderly is expected to increase since the population of the EU is ageing. More and more people will become dependent on the care of relatives or professional care providers and will become vulnerable to neglect or violence as a result.

Bulgarian citizen organizations, collective members of the European Older People's Platform, support this common position and continue to work in support of the elderly in Bulgaria. They insist on developing a policy for the elderly which ensures qualitative care within the society and on the development of programs to both fight the current violence against the elderly and prevent it in the future. They see this as an integral part of the social policy in Bulgaria.

Compiled from: DarilNews.bg-Varna, 16 June 2008.