It’s World Suicide Prevention Day today...

LET’S BEGIN BY ACCEPTING THAT SIKKIM HAS A PROBLEM

TSHERING EDEN
GANGTOK, 09 Sept: The current year began with a 15-year-old taking her own life on 01 January. Since then, NOW! has reported 51 suicides [till 06 September] in Sikkim. With just over three months left for the year to end, this figure might seem small [in comparison to past years], but one must understand that these are just the cases that have found their way to the press and there would be others which have either not been reported or have been misrepresented as accidental deaths.
Today, on World Suicide Prevention Day, let us at least accept that there is a problem and with the rest of the world, try to understand first the underlying causes before making any attempt at intervention. Observance of certain days like the World AIDS Day, Anti-Drug Abuse Day, etc with numerous events followed by press releases of such events do make some noise even if their significance is questionable but the silence that precedes and follows World Suicide Prevention Day is perhaps symbolic of the denial and apathy of the Sikkimese society on the subject. Such lack of even tokenism on the issue is worrisome.
Of the 51 suicides till now, the majority [14] were by those between 31-40 years of age. Teenagers make up the second group with high number of suicides. 11 out of the 51 fell between the age group of 13-19 years. Those between 20-30 years make up the third group with 9 suicides so far.
The data is admittedly insufficient, as pointed out earlier, to make any real inferences but the fact is that suicide in the past 9 months has claimed mostly those between the ages of 13-40 years. In 2011, out of the total number of 184, suicide claimed 130 in the age group of 15-44 years.
Another mind-numbing fact is that two children, one aged 09 and another 10 also committed suicide this year. What drives a child to suicide is a question that just cannot be left unanswered. The data is again insufficient in order to arrive at any conclusions, but most suicides this year as well as in past years have been reported from rural areas. Only three cases have been reported from Gangtok and its surroundings while more have been reported from rural areas of the East district.
Does this mean that suicide is more prevalent in rural Sikkim or does it point towards the possibility that it is being under-reported or not reported at all from the urban areas? Whatever the case, answers to these questions are vital in understanding the phenomena and hence, attempts at intervention.
If one takes the 51 suicides reported in NOW! so far this year into consideration, the number of suicides could probably be the lowest this year in the past five years. The highest in Sikkim i.e 287 was reported in 2008 [according to NCRB data], 241 in 2009, 280 in 2010 and 184 in 2011. Although this could suggest a fall in the number of suicides reported or even an actual fall in the number of suicides, it does not in any way justify the complete apathy and utter lack of response to a condition that the state on the whole is suffering from.
The method that a person chooses to end his or her life with can also aid in answering a number of questions. While, the method used in farmer suicides in Kerala have predominantly been consumption of pesticides which is accrued to its easy availability, hanging in the case of Sikkim lacks an explanation as yet. Of the 51 suicides reported this year, all except three were by hanging. This particular method usually requires preparation and a mind set to succeed. Preparation, then, points towards every possibility that the suicide victim could have previously attempted suicide but was unsuccessful. This leads to a very important aspect with regard to suicide and its intervention, not only in Sikkim but in the entire country.
While most nations in the west have decriminalised the act of taking one’s own life, it is still a punishable crime in India. Under section 309 of the Indian Penal Code - “Whoever attempts to commit suicide and does any act towards the commission of such offence, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with fine, or with both."
Although the Law Commission has submitted a review to the Indian government to repeal this section in 2008, no amendment has been made till date. This impedes suicide intervention in terms of accurate collection of data as well as reaching help to those who have attempted suicide and are in the danger of succeeding in the future. The fear of law makes it that much more difficult for a person who has attempted suicide to access help even if it is available.
The Law Commission in its report had stated: “Section 309 provides double punishment for a person who has got fed up with his own life and desires to end it. It is also a stumbling block in the prevention of suicides and improving the access of medical care to those who have attempted suicide.”
The theme of World Suicide Prevention Day this year is “Suicide Prevention across the Globe: Strengthening Protective Factors and Instilling Hope.” Suicide is a multi-determined phenomenon that occurs against a background of complex interacting biological, social, psychological and environmental risk and protective factors. Despite the complexity of this phenomenon, suicide can be prevented.
Let us accept that Sikkim needs to address suicides and also understand that it can be prevented.