15 years of the Statute on Older People

The ‘Respect Me Because I’m 60’ series, created by the OAB-RN to mark the 15th anniversary of the Statute on Older People.

On 1 October, the Statute of the Elderly, the main law defending the rights of older people in Brazil, will mark its 15th anniversary.

This law represented a huge step forward in public policies aimed at people over the age of 60, as it recognised that this section of the population should be given priority in the realisation of their rights. Furthermore, the Statute on Older People also sets out in detail the specific protections that older people should receive “from their family, the community, society and the public authorities”.

The The main objective of this legislation is to ensure that older people have “every opportunity and facility to preserve their physical and mental health and to further their moral, intellectual, spiritual and social development , in conditions of freedom and dignity.”

“It is the duty of the family, the community, society and the public authorities to ensure, as an absolute priority, that older people’s rights to life, health, food, education, culture, sport, leisure, work, citizenship, freedom, dignity, respect and family and community life.”

(Article 3 of the Statute on Older People)

Ageing of the Brazilian population

In 2003, when the Statute on Older People was enacted, 15 million people (8.5 per cent of the population) were aged 60 or over. That figure has almost doubled over the last 15 years: today, the Brazil has more than 27 million older people, who account for around 13 per cent of the population.

According to the IBGE, in its survey ‘: Population Projections 2018’ , older people will account for 25 per cent of the population by 2043 – there will be more than 58 million older people in a country expected to have a total population of 233 million.

The same survey shows that, in 13 years’ time, our country will have more older people than children aged 14 and under. In 2013, there were 50 people aged over 60 for every 100 children under the age of 14. Today, that ratio is already 63 older people for every 100 children, and by 2031 it will be 102 to 100. If the IBGE’s projection comes to pass, by 2055 Brazil will have twice as many older people as children.

Challenges of the Statute on Older People

Against this backdrop of an ageing population, the importance of specific legislation aimed at the section of the population aged over 60 becomes even more evident.

Although it is a progressive law compared with other countries facing a situation similar to Brazil’s, the main problem with the Statute of the Elderly lies in its implementation. There is still a great deal of ignorance regarding the rights of older people in our country, and many shortcomings in the monitoring of its implementation by the public authorities.

We need to make rapid progress in the implementation of the A Statute for Older People to prevent the country from continuing to make life difficult for those aged over 60. As we have seen above, this population will continue to grow at a rapid pace and, the longer we take to adapt to this new situation, the more difficult it will be to integrate older people as citizens of our country.

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