More suicides than murders

There is a whole lot of government paraphernalia — law enforcement agencies as well as prisons — and the judiciary to deter people from committing heinous crimes such as murder. But when compared with the fact that in India, people are five times more likely to take their own life than be murdered, the abysmally disproportionate resources to deal with this huge burden reflect a lack of empathy towards the problem whose genesis lies in mental health. The murder vs suicide rates are similar globally, except in conflict zones or the drug mafia-ridden Latin America.

However, in a heart-warming trend, attention is today increasingly being paid to suicide statistics that disturbingly point to an uptick in all groups — from young students to the elderly, from those in stress-prone difficult duties like the military and paramilitary forces to the poorly paid and those without gainful employment. India’s first commendable step towards the recognition of the government’s responsibility of providing medical care and rehabilitation to persons with suicidal tendencies was the decriminalisation of suicide through the Mental Healthcare Act 2017. Beginning with the discontinuance of giving electric shocks to the mentally challenged, the Act aims to transform mental healthcare.

But the path to this ambitious goal has many hurdles. The social stigma attached to the underlying psychiatric issues, such as depression and substance abuse, remains painstakingly high and prevents the patients from taking medical care. Suicides in India rose to an all-time high of over 1.5 lakh in 2020, as per the National Crime Records Bureau. Sadly, the number of psychiatrists and counsellors as well as mental health facilities to cater to this patient load remains acutely insufficient. While experts and celebrities are opening up about various mental disorders, leading to increased public perception that they be treated on a par with physical ailments, a lot more needs to be done to spread awareness. A society sensitised towards the mentally afflicted persons can help prevent suicides.

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