Dr Raminder Jit Singh
Life is a divine gift. To preserve it is commendable and to destroy it is condemnable. Suicide is one of the ways to destroy this divine gift of life. The word “Suicide” has been defined as an act in which person kills himself or intentional self-slaughter, or undertaking a mission involving his own death, or action destructive to one’s own interests. According to World Health Organization (W.H.O) Suicide is a largely preventable public health problem, causing almost half of all violent deaths as well as economic costs in the billions of dollars.
According to the latest report on statistics available on the ‘Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India’ published by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) of Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt. of India, in the year 2012, more than one lakh persons (1,35,445) in the country lost their lives by committing suicide. The number of suicides in the country during the decade (2002-2012) has recorded an increase of 22.70% (from 1,10,417 in 2002 to 1,35,445 in 2012). The increase in incidence of suicides was reported each year during the decade. Tamil Nadu has reported the highest number of suicides (16,927) accounting for 12.5% of total suicides followed by Maharashtra (16,112), West Bengal (14,957), Andhra Pradesh (14,238) and Karnataka (12,753) accounting for 11.9%, 11.0%, 10.5% and 9.4% respectively of the total suicides in the country. These 5 States together accounted for 55.3% of the total suicides reported in the country. The remaining 44.7% suicides were reported in the rest of 23 States and 7 UTs. It is estimated that one in 60 persons in our country are affected by suicide, it includes both, those who have attempted suicide and those who have been affected by the suicide of a close family or friend.
The psychological, social and financial impact of suicide on the family and society is immeasurable. The burning question these days is – Can suicides be prevented? The answer is Yes! Reducing suicide requires a collective, concerted effort from all groups in the society. Education seeks to decrease the incidents of suicidal behaviours and depression. Educational programmes for Physicians, Police, Welfare workers who are likely to come in contact with people who are at risk of taking this extreme step of suicide. Such a group can be trained to ask about possible suicide intent and make referrals to social centers or individuals trained to deal with such problems. Special programmes of prevention can be organized for high risk population especially the students, professionals and victims of domestic violence who succumb to depression and suicide. Efforts to contact these groups and provide counseling, socialization, vocational and recreational programmes, up to large extent can reduce number of depressions and suicides. Educational programmes that increase vocational skills can help the individual to develop concept of self-reliance which consequently decreases feeling of powerlessness and helplessness.
In Educational Institutions, the counseling staff should be trained to recognize the students with early symptoms of depression. The students with such signs should be properly counseled or referred to mental health professionals. Another effective way to counter suicides is education about religion and culture. Almost all religions through their teachings oppose suicide and suicidal thoughts. According to Koran, suicide is a crime more heinous and grave than homicide. Christianity has opposed self destruction. Faith in God and one’s own culture helps in providing strength to the individual. Religious discourses can have calming effect on an individual which in turn negates suicidal tendencies in an individual.
In India, attempted suicide is a punishable offence. Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code states that “whoever attempts to commit suicide and does any act towards the commission of such an offense shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with a fine or with both”. However, the aim of the law to prevent suicide by legal methods has proved to be counter-productive in India. Emergency care to those who have attempted suicide is denied as many hospitals and practitioners hesitate to provide the much needed treatment fearful of legal hassles. For the success of suicide prevention strategy decriminalizing attempted suicide is of utmost need in present day scenario.
The diminishing traditional family support systems leave people vulnerable to suicidal behavior. A person with suicidal tendency needs someone in whom he could confide and off-load some of his apprehensions and problems. If he finds someone who listens to him, his suicidal tendencies diminish to large extent, hence there is an emerging need for external emotional support. The enormity of the problem combined with the paucity of mental health service has led to the emergence of NGOs in the field of suicide prevention. The NGO’s through their suicide prevention centers can undertake the task of informing and educating the public about the problem of suicide through various mass media like television, radio, newspapers, magazines, etc. The humane touch and elderly advice of the personnel of these centers can help a lot in providing solace to the individuals with suicidal ideation.
There is an urgent need to develop a plan for suicide prevention both at State and national level in India. The priority areas should involve reducing the availability of and access to pesticides, reducing alcohol availability and consumption, promoting responsible media reporting of suicide and related issues, promoting and supporting NGOs, involving religious leaders, improving the capacity of primary care workers and specialist mental health services and providing support to those bereaved by suicide, providing psychiatric evaluation and treatment to people who have attempted suicide, training teachers, police officers and practitioners of alternative system of medicine and faith healers. All these steps can help to tackle the menace of suicides which emboldens the statement – Yes! Suicides are preventable.
(The author is the Director of J&K based Registered Suicide Prevention Organisation’ ‘ The SARA’)
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