India, June 14 -- Sitting alone on a park bench for hours in the national capital, 72-year-old Shanti Devi's hope was fading. Her son had left her there - in those unknown surroundings - without money to survive alone and without contact details she could use to reach him or return to what she had called home all these years. She already had the sinking feeling that he wouldn't take her back, even if she somehow found her way home. Passersby had mostly ignored her, though despair was writ large on her face. A policeman eventually noticed her distress - perhaps alerted by one of the park's visitors - and checked on her before sending her to a shelter home.

As we mark the World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on June 15, it is deeply saddening t...