State lawmakers approved a bill that, if enacted, would impose jail sentences to those who abandon family members of 60 years of age or older.
Now former Assemblyman Francisco Barraza, a Mexicali member of the Baja California State Party, said his bill modifies the Penal Code in order to allow judges to impose penalties of up to three years to those who abandon their elderly or handicapped family members.
The bill also includes provisions to cancel violators’ right to inherit the victim’s estate.
The measure allows public or private institutions to report any violations whenever they are cognizant of a crime of this kind.
Based on figures from the World Health Organization, Barraza said worldwide 36 million senior citizens suffer mistreatment, negligence or abandonment, with the tendency rising during the past years.
According to the lawmaker, whose term concluded Friday, social abandonment of senior citizens is legally defined as the lack of attention and care from family members, which causes psychological and emotional impacts on victims that lead to depresión and even suicide attempts.
Barraza said even though several laws have been enacted nationwide to address the issue they are not enough to prevent or eradicate the problem.
