{"id":2848,"date":"2019-04-20T20:18:18","date_gmt":"2019-04-20T20:18:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/?p=2848"},"modified":"2019-04-20T20:18:18","modified_gmt":"2019-04-20T20:18:18","slug":"littlejohn-to-un-it-is-better-to-die-widows-at-risk-in-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/littlejohn-to-un-it-is-better-to-die-widows-at-risk-in-china\/","title":{"rendered":"Littlejohn to UN: – “It is Better to Die…” Widows at Risk in China"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Reggie Littlejohn (in orange) with her co-presenters and several attendees after the March 11 event.  Her co-presenters were Jing Zhang (second row, fourth from the left), President of Women\u2019s Rights in China; Lois Herman, Coordinator of the Women\u2019s United Nations Reporting Network, who moderated; and Ms. Margaret Owen, Founder and CEO of Widows for Peace Through Democracy, to Reggie\u2019s right in the photo.  Credit:  Women\u2019s Rights Without Frontiers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Women\u2019s Rights Without Frontiers<\/a>\u00a0 collaborated with the Women\u2019s United Nations Reporting Network to sponsor an event at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.\u00a0\u00a0The event was standing room only, a poweful success.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Here is an excerpt of Reggie\u2019s remarks:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cZhen Ting\u2019s\u201d husband passed away with necrosis of the bone five years ago.  She still remembers his last months, in and out of the hospital. The doctor finally told Zhen Ting to take her husband home and buy him his favorite foods. They had run out of money for hospitalization, and there was nothing more that could be done to save him. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zhen Ting\u2019s daughter-in-law became very angry at the cost of her father-in-law\u2019s illness.  The daughter-in-law yelled at this helpless, elderly couple. She told the neighbors, \u201cIt is better to die than live in pain and make the whole family suffer, spending all our savings so that we will become homeless people.\u201d The daughter-in-law held out the example of an elderly woman who was diagnosed with breast cancer.  She hanged herself on a tree in the back yard, to save her family from having to pay medical expenses. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zhen Ting says that her son is an introverted person; he would never stand up to his wife.  She had no support, no one to turn to, when a fieldworker from Women\u2019s Rights Without Frontiers told her about our \u201cSave a Widow\u201d Campaign. Zhen Ting is deeply grateful for the monthly visit and monetary support she is now receiving.  She says that even though her own son has abandoned her, kind strangers from far away are willing to help her.  She told our fieldworker, \u201cGod is showing mercy to me and sent me an angel.\u201d  <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cZhen Ting\u201d (name changed to protect her privacy), a widow given dignity, hope and practical help through our \u201cSave a Widow\u201d Campaign.  Credit:  Women\u2019s Rights Without Frontiers.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

China\u2019s current elderly population is 241 million<\/a>, 17.3 % of the nation\u2019s total population, and rising.  China\u2019s elderly population is set to peak at nearly half a billion<\/a>, or 35% of the total population, in 2050.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sadly, senior suicide is on the rise.\u00a0\u00a0According to a\u00a0report<\/a> in the China Daily — a Chinese government\u2013affiliated English language news outlet — the suicide rate of rural Chinese elderly has increased 500% in the past two decades, from 100 to 500 per 100,000.\u00a0\u00a0According to sociologist Liu Yanwu, who studied the issue for six years, \u201c. . . I was more shocked by the lack of concern in villages where the elderly commit suicide . . . It seems that death is nothing to fear, and suicide is a normal, even a happy end.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the past, elders were venerated and cared for by their children and grandchildren. \u201cFilial piety was valued in old China, but many elderly people in rural areas can no longer depend on their children as a result of the great economic and social changes over the past three decades,\u201d continues Liu, \u201cand the pension system fails to compensate . . . In China, farmers are vulnerable, and old farmers are the most vulnerable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reggie Littlejohn, founder and president of Women\u2019s Rights Without Frontiers<\/a>, stated, \u201cthe studies show that the elderly, especially elderly widows who traditionally have depended on their children to support them in old age, are becoming destitute and so desperate that they are committing suicide.  They are the invisible victims of the demographic disaster caused by the One Child Policy and are in urgent need of help.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women\u2019s Rights Without Frontiers<\/a> is committed to helping Chinese women at every stage of their lives.\u00a0\u00a0Our\u00a0\u201cSave a Girl\u201d Campaign<\/a> helps baby girls to be born, instead of being selectively aborted or abandoned because they are girls.\u00a0\u00a0Likewise, we help their mothers defend themselves against the pressure to abort or abandon their baby girls.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0And now through our\u00a0\u201cSave a Widow\u201d Campaign<\/a>, we are extending help to elderly widows, to ease their suffering and give them dignity and new hope in the twilight season of their lives.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These efforts are not enough to help all the baby girls or all the abandoned widows in China. We call upon the Chinese government to step up its efforts to help those most vulnerable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Reggie and her husband, Robert in front of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women banner.  Credit:  Women\u2019s Rights Without Frontiers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Related Links<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can China Afford Rapid Aging?https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC4949193\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/springerplus.springeropen.com\/articles\/10.1186\/s40064-016-2778-0<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suicide Among Elderly Increases http:\/\/www.chinadaily.com.cn\/china\/2014-08\/04\/content_18239837.htm  <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

China\u2019s Elderly Population to Peak at Half a Billion in 2050 https:\/\/gbtimes.com\/chinas-elderly-population-to-peak-at-half-a-billion-in-2050<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

China\u2019s Elderly Population Continues to Rise, With 241 Million Now Over 60 https:\/\/gbtimes.com\/chinas-elderly-population-continues-to-rise <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Save a Widow Campaign https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/index.php?nav=help-chinese-widows<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Congressional-Executive Commission on China 2017 Report, \u201cPopulation Control\u201d section at p. 158 https:\/\/www.cecc.gov\/publications\/annual-reports\/2017-annual-report<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ageing China:  Changes and Challenges https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-asia-19630110<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

China:  The Disturbing Trend of Elderly Suicide http:\/\/www.silvereco.org\/en\/china-the-disturbing-trend-of-elderly-suicide\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suicide Among the Elderly in Mainland China https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/publication\/26672766_Suicide_Among_the_Elderly_in_Mainland_China<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How China\u2019s Rural Elderly Are Being Left Behind and Taking Their Lives, updated https:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/news\/world\/how-chinas-rural-elderly-are-being-left-behind-and-taking-theirlives\/article29179579\/ <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why are so many elderly Asians killing themselves https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/world\/why-are-so-many-elderly-asians-killing-themselves-n32591<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

China\u2019s Rural Poor Bear the Brunt of the Nation\u2019s Aging Crisis https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2017-01-05\/china-s-rural-poor-bear-the-brunt-of-the-nation-s-aging-crisis<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relying on Whom?  Poverty and Consumption Financing of China\u2019s Elderly https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/books\/NBK109233\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Women\u2019s Rights Without Frontiers\u00a0 collaborated with the Women\u2019s United Nations Reporting Network to sponsor an event at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.\u00a0\u00a0The event was standing room only, a poweful success.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Here is an excerpt of Reggie\u2019s remarks: … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2848"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2848\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2860,"href":"https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2848\/revisions\/2860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}