We cannot continue to claim moral authority on respect for elders while allowing them to suffer in silence. If we want to preserve the cultural pride we hold so dearly, then confronting elder abuse is not optional, it is urgent. Respect must move from proverb to practice, from performance to protection, from words to action.
“World Elder Abuse Awareness Day” is observed every year on 15 June. It is the only United Nations Day dedicated to exposing the abuse, neglect, and exploitation of older people, a crisis that remains largely hidden, even as it affects millions of households around the world. In 2026, it presents fresh opportunities for communities, advocates, care providers and policymakers to confront a problem that grows more urgent each year, not just on 15th June, but throughout the entire year. Afterall, elder abuse does not begin or end on a single day. Elder abuse refers to any single or repeated action, or the failure to act that causes harm or distress to an older person, particularly within a relationship where they should feel safe and able to trust the other person.
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According to the World Health Organization, around one in six people aged 60 or over experienced some form of abuse in community settings during the previous year. The numbers climb even higher in institutional environments such as nursing homes and long-term care facilities, where some surveys show two in three staff members admitting to abusive behaviour. A study in parts of Nigeria, involving participants mostly in their early seventies, found that nearly eight out of every ten older adults had experienced some form of abuse. Elder abuse can take many forms such as physical, emotional, sexual, financial, digital as well as neglect and abandonment. Regardless of the form, the impact of harm caused by elder abuse is profound with survivors facing higher rates of depression, hospitalisation, and premature death. Aside from the grimmest consequence, the lesser harms and its quiet impacts are often missed or ignored. With the global population of older adults expected to double to two billion by 2050, the urgency of prevention could not be more stark.
If reports from social media and recent findings are anything to go by, then the rise of elder abuse in Africa, despite a cultural identity that is deeply tied to the belief that insulting an elder is unthinkable, reveals a painful contradiction. We recite proverbs about respecting grey hair, but in practice, older adults are increasingly facing ridicule, neglect, exploitation, and emotional harm. From rural villages to classrooms filled with young learners, the very people we claim to honour are too often dismissed as burdens, mocked for their limitations, or stripped of their dignity in the name of changing times and shifting views.
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Elder abuse does not always take the overt form of abandoning older adults, inflicting physical harm because they have been accused of being witches or wizards, or subjecting them to degrading treatment such as locking them in rooms or confinement in unhygienic conditions. While these extreme cases do occur and often make headlines, they represent only one end of a much broader spectrum. Elder abuse can also take quieter, more insidious forms, so subtle that they are easily dismissed as “You don’t know Mama/Papa”, “normal behaviour” or “family matters.” It may be the constant belittling of an older person’s opinions, the impatience that silences their voice, the financial decisions made without their consent, or the slow erosion of their independence under the guise of helping. This story lays bare the contradiction at the heart of our cultural claims.
Mama Tala used to be the first voice heard at dawn, sweeping the compound and humming the same hymn her mother taught her. Children once gathered around her for stories, folklores, tales of migration, harvests, and the old festivals that shaped the community. But now, when she steps outside, the children mimic her slow shuffle. Teenagers roll their eyes when she speaks. Last month, her nephew took control of her meagre stipend, insisting he would manage it better. He now gives her money only when he feels like it. When she protested, he told her she was too old to understand how things work in today’s realities. No one in the family house corrected him, no one intervened. After all, they argued that if her biological children had wanted things to be different, they would have stayed in Nigeria instead of leaving things to be managed from abroad or by relatives while she still has living children… So, Mama Tala sits quietly on her wooden stool, watching a society that claims to revere elders slowly erase her dignity in plain sight.
This story depicts what elder abuse may look like. It is not always loud, not always violent, but deeply wounding. It is the unpaid pension, the ignored medical need, the mocking laughter, the refusal to listen, the isolation in a back room, the quiet belief that an older person’s life no longer holds value. These are not small acts. They are violations of our humanity. If we truly believe that elders are the custodians of wisdom, then protecting them must be more than a cultural slogan. It must be a daily practice taught in our schools, reinforced in our homes, and upheld in our communities. Respect is not what we say, it is what we do.
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day has grown into a global movement since its beginnings in 1997, when the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse launched it. It was later joined by the World Health Organization and formally recognised by the United Nations in 2011, which designated 15 June as a day to confront a crisis that continues to worsen worldwide and support the growing urgency for action each year. The UN designation gave the day global authority and hopefully prompted member states to integrate elder abuse prevention into their national ageing strategies. The colour purple now symbolises solidarity, promotes dignity, respect and a call to end maltreatment of older adults.
Anyone can take part in World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, and more importantly, anyone can help turn that awareness into action, whether you work in care, support an older relative, or simply want to help shift public attitudes. Preventing elder abuse is not complicated, it is practical, doable, and within everyone’s reach. While wearing purple on the 15th of June as a simple, visible act of solidarity is commendable, more importantly is to learn the warning signs, unexplained injuries, sudden financial changes, withdrawal, or social isolation that can save a life. Sharing survivor stories, with consent, helps break the silence. Community workshops held in schools, care homes, health facilities, and places of worship can teach people how to recognise when someone is trying to cheat or take advantage of an older person, show them where to report any worries about an older adult’s safety, and explain why it is important to get an older person’s permission before making decisions on their behalf.
Checking in on older neighbours helps reduce loneliness, which is one of the biggest factors that puts them at risk of abuse. A simple yet powerful way to make a lasting difference is to “adopt” an older adult with their consent, and in some instances the consent of their relatives through guided, respectful interaction. This does not mean taking them into your care, it simply means choosing to call, chat with, or check on them for a few minutes each week, if possible. Even small, consistent gestures like these can give an older person a renewed sense of connection and a meaningful lift in their daily life.
Supporting local organisations that work with older people whether through donations, volunteering, or simple community involvement which helps strengthen the safety net around them. Pushing for policy changes and speaking up for better government action such as the timely payment of pensions, the release of accrued benefits owed to those who have served, easy access to health care and subsidised, proper funding for social services, stronger oversight of care homes where they exist, and reforms that move beyond paperwork into real, practical support helps ensure that the protection of older adults is not left to chance.
An often neglected area is the legal protection of older adults, issues such as consent, advance directives, and power of attorney, which are still not widely understood or prioritised in these parts. These measures are essential for safeguarding an older person’s rights, wishes, and dignity. Clear consent ensures that older adults remain in control of decisions about their health, finances, and daily life. Advance directives help families and caregivers honour a person’s preferences when they can no longer speak for themselves. Power of attorney arrangements prevent confusion and exploitation by formally designating someone trustworthy to act on their behalf. Without these protections, older adults are left vulnerable to abuse, manipulation, and neglect, especially in moments when they are least able to defend their own interests.
We cannot continue to claim moral authority on respect for elders while allowing them to suffer in silence. If we want to preserve the cultural pride we hold so dearly, then confronting elder abuse is not optional, it is urgent. Respect must move from proverb to practice, from performance to protection, from words to action.
Margaret Uddin Ojeahere is the founder of Noetic Minders and a consultant psychiatrist with Jos University Teaching Hospital.
