Angry about Brexit? Don’t take it out on grandma, UN says

A majority of older Britons voted in favour of leaving the EU. Turnout among young people, who tended to favour remaining in the EU, was much lower.

Guess who’s the most affected by the Brexit vote in Britain?

A majority of older Britons voted in favour of leaving the EU. Turnout among young people, who tended to favour remaining in the EU, was much lower. (AFP file photo)

Of course, the Britons! But elders the most.

Elderly people in Britain are suffering ageist abuse in the wake of UK’s vote to leave the European Union, an independent United Nations human rights expert said on Tuesday.

Turnout in the June 23 referendum was higher among older people and a majority of them voted in favour of leaving the EU. Turnout among young people, who tended to favour remaining in the EU, was much lower.

The referendum result has divided Britain and caused political chaos and economic turmoil.

The UN independent expert on the enjoyment of human rights by older persons, Rosa Kornfeld-Matte, deplored calls by some newspapers and social media outlets for restrictions on “grey” voters, saying curtailing people’s rights on the grounds of age was contrary to international human rights law.

“One magazine even suggested that the pensioners’ right to vote should be taken away, just as their driver’s licences are, after they reach a certain age,” the Chilean expert said in a statement.

“It is also intimately linked to violence and abuse against them in public and private spheres as scapegoating and stereotyping nourish subconscious motives.”