Violence against the elders in modern family – selected aspects (communication from studies)

Abstract

We live in a postmodern specific era, characterized from the average man perspective with haste and living the moment with emphasis on experiencing momentary pleasure, consumerism, putting on interactions and relationships (the approach to another person in accordance with the rule of maximum usefulness).

Both of the above mentioned aspects indicate that the elders category is a kind of a problem, both for the state, as well as for the public, which is reflected in the family, where the pivotal exponent is violence directed at the elders.

Analysis of the results of the study brings forth the following results within the area of domestic violence against the people in their autumn of life:

– this phenomenon is not differentiated within the context of its forms experienced by the elders (omitting sexual context) – physical violence is equally experienced by both women and men; as it is the men who suffer more from psychological and economic violence than women of their age (the existence of the latter is not conditional upon their material status, though);

– more often it concerns the village and people living in multigenerational families, what seems to be understood;

– the perpetrators-the most common son, secondly spouse, wife (or partners respectively).

It is worth noting that the elders show activity in the prevention of conduct in relation to their own person typical for this phenomenon-they ask for help not only people coming from the family, but also the professionals (police, the municipal social welfare center workers, etc.), more common it is among the city dwellers than rural dwellers; senior citizens with an average education than primary or vocational.

Solutions to this problem is to be found not only on the basis of legislation or the functioning of specific institutions (police, municipal social welfare center, etc.) or NGOs (the „blue line”), but also in the education and upbringing of the younger generation till old age, with the aim of implementation as potentially all of us will experience the old age.