In Costa Rica there are approximately 440,799 senior citizens, and so far in 2017 there have been 854 cases of violence and 3,877 aggression reports against this population and over 700 elderly have been abandoned according to data by the Social Management Unit of the National Council for the Senior Citizens (Conapam).

In response to these situation Costa Rica’s Ombudsman’s Office (Defensoria de los Habitantes) presented this week a campaign to raise awareness in the population and promote respect towards senior citizens. The campaign, using the slogan “The indifference is also violence”  hopes to get people to recognize that the indifference contributes to the violence and neglect senior citizens face, explained Ombudswoman, Montserrat Solano.

“These are forms of violence that senior citizens face in their home and even in the attention they get in public institutions; admitting to this requires us to be aware of certain acts that sometimes are not easily noticed,  situations that lead to discrimination and violation of fundamental rights which we need to see so that indifference doesn’t become an accepted social practice”, stated Solano.

As December arrives the problem worsens, since, according to authorities, many senior citizens are abandoned by their families in hospitals, elderly homes and even in their homes.   An estimate 200 elderly citizens will be abandoned this December; this number is based in data of previous years.

“Right now we have still 175 senior citizens that we have to transfer to elderly homes because they were abandoned in hospitals,  and so far this year we have already transferred 700 people, so the situation is very serious. Now it is easier to just abandon in the hospital and have the Government Institutions deal with the situation, because families don’t want to deal with an elderly person; aging shouldn’t be seen in a negative way, it is part of life and we all should contribute”, commented Zulema Villata, president of Conapam.