A similar panorama took place throughout 2023, when the Institute carried out 5,832 medicolegal assessments for interpersonal violence against people aged 60 or over, with men being the greatest victims, and 2,799 for domestic violence, with women being the greatest victims.
The worrying situation is even worse because older people are also victims of violence such as discrimination based on age and sexual, economic, financial and property abuse. For this reason, on the World Day of Awareness of Abuse and Mistreatment in Old Age, the Ombudsman’s Office calls on society as a whole and the State: protect their rights and advance actions that allow their enjoyment and full warranty.
Everyone ages from birth, and the process only stops with death, which requires that the right to a life without any type of violence be guaranteed. Therefore, the human rights entity is committed to promoting a culture of true respect and recognition of all people, without distinction of age.
A large part of the older population in Colombia also faces structural and institutional violence, which refers to situations generated by economic, social, political or cultural factors that generate situations of poverty, inequality and inequity, which marginalizes them and deprives them of access. equal access to resources, services and opportunities. Likewise, they face indirect violence that materializes in invisibility and discrimination when they are ignored to give their opinion and are not called to participate in decisions that affect or interest them.
It is imperative, then, from the moral, legal, social, economic and cultural spheres to contribute to the construction of a society that respects, protects and integrates every older person, since we cannot forget that human rights do not age nor are they restricted. at an older age.
