Nothing to hide - The face of Senicide/Geronticide

Nothing to hide – The face of Senicide/Geronticide

Apr 03, 2014 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,
Shock and dismay are inadequate words to describe the feelings that ravaged my mental faculties on reading about the demise of two septuagenarians in such quick succession.
Guyana is experiencing what can only be termed a tsunami of immorality and lamentable decadence. These incidents point to a trending crisis as the population ages, and more and more of the elderly live alone or are being abandoned by their relatives, forcing them to become easy prey to the surfeit of sick people roaming the streets.
Given the present state of things in Guyana, why is another burden being added or imposed on those less able to cope – the elderly. In addition to coping with declining health, now they have to muster enough might to fend off likely attackers.
The Government is called upon to institute measures in an effort to bring a grinding halt to this sad state of affairs in our country’s history. The rape of an elderly individual is a horrible crime. The perpetrator had to be either of an unsound mind, or the occupant of another planet, or both.
In my early years growing up in Georgetown, the elderly were the safest members of the societal population. Any thought of deviance aimed at the elderly were only fleeting thoughts, ones that could never reach futurity or perpetration. The Golden Rule stood—Respect the elderly. Sadly, respect in and of itself is missing from Guyanese society.
For centuries, humans have had the misguided notion that rape is about sexual desire. Nothing could be further from the truth – particularly about assault on the elderly. Rape is about power and control and rage. The way these crimes are handled should stand in stark testimony of the progress level of our legal system. Sexual abuse of the elderly should be taken as equally if not far more seriously than when the victim is a child. Crimes need human faces to touch the public imagination.
Concerns that are age-specific need to be incorporated into professional training programmes. Addressing the murder and rape of older women requires coordination of the efforts of Government authorities, community organizations and public awareness.
For many women, being sexually victimized especially in the golden years is yet another battle amidst so many others prevalent in Guyana. We must put an end to it. We must make a stand, before such behaviour claims our land. A luta continua…The struggle continues.
Yvonne Sam

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