Decision on decriminalising suicide bid welcomed

Chennai: Decriminalising the attempt to suicide is a welcome move and would reduce the number of suicidal attempts and deaths, say members of non-governmental organisations working on suicide prevention, and psychologists in the city. Only 20 countries in the world, including a few African countries, consider suicide as an offence. Other countries, which decriminalised suicides, have seen a decline in the number of suicidal attempts and deaths, according to psychiatrist, Dr Lakshmi Vijayakumar, who founded Sneha, an NGO working to prevent suicides.

Most of the people who attempt suicide consume pesticides or other poisonous substances. These people are not treated at the nearby private hospitals and are directed to go to government hospitals, fearing legal procedures and burden.Many lives have been lost, due to this. The government order on allowing private hospitals to treat accident and suicidal cases do not work, she says, and adds the move would actually make private hospitals come forward and treat patients who are critical.

These people must be brought for counselling, she opines. “These persons have to face legal issues that extend for years, which makes them feel that they should not have been saved. Police inquiry and several trips to the police station annoy them,” she notes.“Filing a legal case against a person already depressed and gone to an extent of committing suicide is an additional blow to the victim. The new decision on suicides will give a professional approach to the affected person, to lead life peacefully,” says psychologist, Dr K. Vijayan, Institute of Mental Health.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau, the number of suicidal deaths has increased from 1.27 lakhs in 2009 to 1.34 lakhs in 2013. As many as 248 men die per day in the country, while it is 121 women, including 62 housewives. While the most of number of suicides, about 82 deaths, happen due to family problems, the least number of deaths, which is five deaths due to poverty, six due to dowry dispute and seven deaths each due to bankruptcy and failure in examination. Tamil Nadu stands second in the incidence of suicides with 16,601 suicides in 2013, while Maharashtra stands first with 16,622 suicides.Tamil Nadu stands third in the country in suicidal rate in 2013 with 24.3 per cent, while Puducherry records 35.6 per cent and Kerala records 24.6 per cent.