Abandoning the elderly to the fate of their sudden loneliness is an unforgivable cruelty that no civilized society should allow. In Western countries it is estimated that 20 to 40% of older people say they feel lonely. In Spain, the survey of Essential Characteristics of Population and Housing (ECEPOV 2021) of the National Institute of Statistics tells us that, of the almost 5 million people (4,981,696) who live alone in homes, more than 2.54 million are 60 or older years and 1.71 million are 70 or older. The greater biological mortality of men means that loneliness has a greater impact on women. One in three people over 70 years of age residing in homes lives alone (33.3 % compared to 16.3 % for men of that same age). From the age of 80, these figures rise to 40 % for women and 20 % for men.
