Grandmother from Kyrgyzstan Featured on the Cover of the International Report on the Rights of Older People "We Have the Same Rights"

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan - Older women from around the world speak about human rights in a new report "We Have the Same Rights," released by HelpAge International.

The report focuses on the rights of older people to freedom from violence, abuse, and neglect, reflecting the themes of the upcoming meeting of the UN Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing from July 5-7, 2017, in New York.

Women from 19 countries, including Kyrgyzstan, in various socio-economic conditions, shared their experiences of discrimination in different areas of their lives, including employment, healthcare, and access to financial services.

Many of the 250 women consulted reported that they or other older women they knew had experienced violence, abuse, or neglect. These situations primarily occur within the family. However, often these cases are not isolated incidents; violence can be systemic in society as a whole.

“There are many cases where older people are kicked out of their homes or placed in small rooms,” reported a 78-year-old woman from Kyrgyzstan, one of the participants in the consultations.

While all older people may face age and gender discrimination, the situation is exacerbated when multiple forms of discrimination intersect. Particularly at risk are single or widowed older women, older women with disabilities, rural women, as well as migrant and refugee women.

Older women believe that governments can take measures to promote equality and end violence, abuse, and neglect by enacting, revising, and implementing laws that protect their rights.

During the consultations, it became clear that spreading information is very important. “There should be informational stands about domestic violence and abuse against older people, as well as contact details on where to get support in cases of violence,” believes another 82-year-old Kyrgyz woman.

Our compatriot, Klyushnichenko Alexandra Vasilyevna, 87 years old, made it to the cover of the international report on the rights of older people. “Older people in our country are not spoiled with special attention in the field of human rights. We managed to get a grandmother from Kyrgyzstan on the cover of the international report, and we consider this a small but very important victory,” says Aysuluu Kamchybekova, director of the HelpAge International branch in Kyrgyzstan. “It is very important that the experiences of older people contribute to the discussion of their rights in the UN Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing in July, and we will use this report as one of the ways to achieve that.”

It is worth noting that specifically for the World Day for the Dissemination of Information on Abuse Against Older People, HelpAge International in Kyrgyzstan released a video infographic on domestic violence against older people in Russian and Kyrgyz languages.