Each fourth elderly person in Moldova does not receive assistance from close relatives. The situation is more critical in the case of elderly men (28.3%) and elderly people from rural areas (27.9%). Over 12% of the elderly people in Moldova do not have who to seek help from, shows the sociological study “Discrimination, abuse and violence against elderly people” that was carried out within a European project and presented on February 12, IPN reports.

According to the study, only 72.6% of the interviewed elderly people said they benefit from medical assistance when they need. Each third elderly person of those who benefitted from medical care complained about the high price of medicines.

14% of the elderly people said they were humiliated or threatened with isolation and banning of direct contact with the friends or family. After turning 60, about 11% of the elderly people became victims of economic abuse associated with theft of property and embezzlement of money, while 4.3% became victims of physical violence, including kicks and punches.

The experts said it is much more difficult to identify cases of sexual abuse against elderly women because not many of the victims report the rapes. The surveyed elderly persons admit that people from the social group of which they form part are sexually abused, but do not declare themselves victims of such abuse.

Tatiana Sorocan, director of HelpAge International Moldova that implemented the project, said the study covered eight settlements of Moldova and more than 1,000 cases of abuse and violence against elderly persons were identified while collecting the data. “I’m glad that by this study we could break the silence and could take the elderly people out of the vicious circle of abuse. The financial situation of families determines cases of violence that must be solved not only by the family. The solitude and lack of communication are the most serious problems faced by the elderly people,” she stated.

Head of the Operations Section of the EU Delegation to Moldova Aneil Singh said the European Union lays emphasis on the development of democratic institutions and the observance of the basic human rights. Now that the Association Agreement with the EU was signed, Moldova must observe the human rights and freedoms in accordance with the European standards. The EU financed the study of violence against elderly people and will continue to assist the Moldovan NGOs in strengthening their capacities to support this category of people. A series of training seminars will be staged with EU support to teach police officers how to behave towards a person subject to domestic violence and how to prevent such situations.

The study “Discrimination, abuse and violence against elderly people” covered two representative samples – persons aged 60 and more (1,096 respondents) and persons able to work, aged between 20 and 55 (500 respondents). It was carried our within the project “Silence is not a solution: Abuse against elderly people in Moldova”, which is financed by the EU and implemented by HelpAge International.