The Handbook on “Social Welfare Statistics” contains Statistical data pertaining to target groups under the Department of Social Justice & Empowerment (India). It is an interesting document which also has data on Senior Citizens in India.
On a glance, one particular page i.e. “State/UT-wise incidence of crimes committed in India against Senior Citizens (60 years & above) during 2019” seems to be extremely relevant and concerning for the Eldercare sector.
Crime is a universal phenomenon and not specific to any country or age group, however the important question is, can we use technology to prevent or reduce potential crime against vulnerable Older People?
Without getting into research on the reasons for committing crime or the association of the culprits with the victims, the larger point of debate is, what systematic interventions and monitoring mechanisms can be implemented to avoid crimes against elders.
The moment we talk of technology, it comes with its own threats, which could be online or physical, yet there is no denying the fact that, without technology human race will go back to the stone age.
As our dependency on mobile phones, internet and other remote monitoring devices are increasing by the day, so are the possibilities of data theft threats.
While many new startups are developing creative and user-friendly apps for healthcare, financial management, caregiving, falls prevention etc, I feel we need to put in more thoughts on the safety and security apps for Senior Citizens also.
As the number of seniors citizens who are living alone are increasing by the day, a robust and advanced security app may become the need of the day.
Who knows that, individual home based CCTV cameras may become obsolete in the next decade and other advanced security systems may get invented.
