Debate on 'section 309' and right to die

 There is an article in The Hindu (17th December, 2014) about the section 309. The author has highlighted the need of this section and criticized the action of decriminalization of suicide attempt. Since the 'comments' has a word limit, the detailed reply is posted here:

With due respect to the scholarly view of the esteemed author, there seems to be a few points that call for more deeper understanding to this sensitive issue:

1. Let’s look at the statistics and its inference. Every four minute, a life is lost because of the suicide. This is perhaps more than what is lost through diseases, natural calamity, and conflicts. Such a high mortality rate may not be interpreted easily by simply associating it with ‘better literacy, social welfare and healthcare in southern estates’.

‘Disappointment as a result of unmet expectations of achievement’ may be one of the many drivers but ‘new technologies like mobile phone’ and ‘social media’ are probably erroneously linked with such data. A typical example is farmers’ suicide, which were in the headlines some time back. Actually, if we closely look at the individual in the suicide data, we can easily find poor and rich, techie and illiterate, farmer and scientist, Hindu and Muslim, and all sorts of people from every walk of life. It should be noted that the Life’s desperate moment is not the monopoly of any particular group of people. In fact, through mobile phone and social media, help can be more easily provided to the suicidal person. Technology, per se, can never be categorized as good or bad – its impact depends on how we use it.

2. Section 309 was very much intact in 2013, and it could not save a single life out of the ‘disclosed’ suicide data. How effective it was to bring justice for real culprits is also a debatable issue.

3. ‘Dowry deaths’ are mostly disguised murders, which are different than suicide. The harassment due to dowry may lead to the depression in some cases, but the victim can file the complaint against the perpetrators [husband and in-laws]. The law has provisions for this and if required, can be made more stringent. But, to associate it with suicide is again a false linkage.

4. 18 States and 4 Union Territories are in favour of deletion of section 309, supported duly by Tenth law commission. So, it’s a well thought, discussed and democratic decision, and not just any particular scholar’s so-called expert view.   

5. ‘Right to die’ is equally significant for suicide as well as euthanasia, as far as the basic right of an individual is concerned. Third party involvement is mere simplification of the seriousness of the suicide. It should be noted that the suicidal person also needs proper support, which is not available easily in most cases. This is in a way similar to the person on a deathbed, with faint hope of recovery. That the medical advancement may revive the person, willing to opt for euthanasia, is a similar argument that holds for a suicidal person also.

6. It’s not about being conservative or liberal. Let’s look at the example of the ‘sole bread-winner of a family committing suicide’. First, section 309 would not deter him to take such action. He would try the ‘crime’ depending on his mental condition, the stress level, choked emotions, circumstances, and so on & so forth, especially when life would appear to be more difficult than dying. If he succeeds then nobody can punish him. If he does not then under section 309 [or some similar law if it gets made as per the author] then he would be put behind the bars. The family would still be sufferer. One should also understand that suicide is not a willing choice for such a person. He always cries for help, though most of the time his signals are wrongly interpreted by ignorant family or friends. So, instead of retaining 309 or making another law, we should focus on how to reach out to that suicidal person so that he would be able to come out of his trauma and take care of his family. It should be a proper healthcare and emotional support issue rather than a legal matter.

 ‘Attuning our law to the global wavelength’ does not mean ignoring our ‘social and economic condition’. Deleting section 309 is only a little measure, which may not only help the suicidal person but also those who are trying to prevent it in systematic and scientific manner. As far as looking towards the west is concerned, they have more integrated support systems in sync with the law to address the increasing rate of suicide. And this loss of life due to suicide in every 4 minute is our reality, with this rate being next only to ‘China’, another eastern civilization – not a developed country of the west.

                

Unless we understand the psychological aspects of suicide, and sensitize our law accordingly, the support and challenge for suicide prevention will remain a dream. The professionals, trying to help the suicidal, know about such delicate issue. Unfortunately our society at large is ignorant about the suicidal behavior and its coping mechanisms. It’s good that ‘Section 309’ has made it a headline, and may lead to more fruitful actions, the biggest of them is perhaps the ‘mindset change’.

Section 309 IPC removed

Attempt to suicide no longer a crime

The government on Wednesday removed Section 309 IPC (attempt to commit suicide) from the statute book.from yahoo news

Decriminalization of "Attempt to Suicide"

Today is World Suicide Prevention Day.

Attempt to Suicide is a punishable offence in India under section 309.

The Law Commission, in its 210^th report (2008) on "Attempt to Suicide", recommended that this law should be revoked

It has clearly mentioned that -

"  Section 309 is a stumbling block in prevention of suicides and improving the access of medical care to those who have attempted suicide. It is unreasonable to inflict punishment upon a person who on account of family discord, destitution, loss of a dear relation or other cause of a like nature overcomes the instinct of self-preservation and decides to take his own life. 

In such a case, the unfortunate person deserves sympathy, counselling and appropriate treatment, and certainly not the prison.  "

It is yet to be seen when this recommendation of Law commission will actually be incorporated in the law." 

Till then, attempt to suicide is a crime...

So, for the organizations and people working towards the suicide prevention, the responsibility is more.. 

Willingness to seek help

An Engineer commits suicide after pressure to clear MGNREGA files near Mysore.

A girl studying in class 7 commits suicide in Odisha because her poor parents could not afford to pay for her notebook and pencil.

A 55 year old sales tax official in Nashik commits suicide – reason unknown.

…These are a few who made their presence felt in the news of this month, be it social media, print or TV… Many more suicides have been recorded in the police files…

Perhaps some have got unreported by the family due to ‘social stigma’ and ‘law’. Such suicides have been labeled as ‘natural death’.  

We could not save them…

Clearly, they have no access or awareness about any helpline…  

What about those who survived?

A Television anchor attempts suicide by consuming rat poison at NOIDA due to harassment at workplace. She is in hospital surviving after the incident. She even had a facebook post declaring her intention. Was she aware of any helpline…?

Do the people, trying to take that difficult plunge, ever think about a helpline that is only a phone call away?

This is the question every support center, working for the depressed and suicidal, needs to understand. Its one aspect is the publicity. But another, perhaps more significant, is the willingness of the people to seek help. How can we tackle that?

A new mental health service for those who don't have any access

Mental Health care is a costly affair. Here is something that may fill the gap for the needy who can't afford it:

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A new initiative launched by Saarthak and The Hans Foundation is:

Khushhali Manasik Swasthya Sewa

  - to provide mental health services to those who do not have any access. 

 Its aim is to provide free and accessible mental health services across Delhi NCR.

The team providing the service would include two senior psychiatrists, two senior clinical psychologists, social workers, counselors and volunteers.

Services will address the universal mental health needs:

Skill building workshops on:

1. Managing Anger
2. Challenging Negative Thoughts
3. Parenting
4. The Success Factor (A life skills program for young people)
5. Sahas ka Safar (A support group for women coping with psychological impact of Domestic Violence)

Services would also address the needs of those people who live with Major Psychiatric Disorders, Common Mental Disorders and Alcohol Dependence

E-mail: hope.includes@gmail.com

Phone: Maneesha/ Shakti on 011 8800599204 (Monday to Saturday between to 10 to 5.30pm)

People can also walk in to the service on Fridays between 3 to 6pm at AADI, 2 Balbir Saxena Marg, Hauz Khas, Near green Park Metro Station.

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Only time will tell how this new initiative will make an impact for the mental health care landscape.

Depression in school-children

Once, the childhood used to be without worry… Or at least we thought so.

Many of us have fond memories of ‘that golden era’ when every morning we had a clean canvas to color it afresh. We did not remember the scolding that was part and parcel of what they call growing up.  

And peer pressure, where was thou?

Yes, we had ups and downs like all of our near and dears. We wept, we fought… and oh, we cried alone at times. Yet, all those were just bad moments… that we were able to overcome. After all we had games to play, friends to share, and family to care.

It still happens with children. They tend to forget the reprimands. They do mistakes again and again. And they enjoy like we grown up once had …

Yet, the stress has entered into their psyche…

Yes, the depressed child has arrived and is here to stay for long.

Competition, over-ambitious parents, peer pressure, lack of emotional support, and maybe media-explosion that provides over-exposure to the already burdened child -  these and many more such factors are responsible.

Or is it called Growth…From collective to more individualistic society… where pressure on the individual to perform better starts at an early age...

Are our schools equipped to handle it?

The suicides by school-going children, which were once almost non-existent, have started making headlines.    

Suicide is the extreme step, but what about the common depression that is so rampant nowadays. Has our schools ever tried to gauge its intensity and to find a remedy…?  

Perhaps a few educational institutions have the time or energy to think in this direction, except some big and branded ones. They also sometimes do it just for formality sake, by having a part-time counselor who is mainly focused on advising about the career avenues. The emotional support takes a backseat most of the time.    

So, what will happen to the depressed child?

Will she be able to flourish and contribute as per her capability? Or will she become a liability? Or worse, will she try to end her life in a weak moment, if there is no channel to release the tension… Such is an extreme scenario but sometimes it happens making a news headline.

What can we do? - This may be the standard response.

But, do we know if any depressed child lives in our home?

Do we try to check? Do we have the patience to at least listen to him or her?   

Suicide Attempt: A Crime?

Suicide is a crime under Indian Penal Code. It is perhaps the only case where the successful criminal can’t be punished. The law can take its course if one attempts and remains alive.

There are other measures to discourage the suicide, like the insurance. Sometimes, the beneficiary hides the ‘suicide act’ in order to get the insurance money. But, such measures are immaterial for somebody who has left the mortal world.

Most of the Religions also condemn this act, but if a person really commits suicide then they can only offer the condolences to the near and dears. After all, how the dead can be preached! 

Affected by this religious as well as legal understanding, almost all of us perceive this act as something “not good” for the civilized society.

Is it the right perception?

What happens to the person because of this general perception?

She may try to hide his feeling to avoid the ridicule. He may plan it secretly to avoid the legal implication. He or she may use it to take revenge from the family/friends – implicating them in the suicide note.

The skeptic may ask another question:

Why somebody ends this otherwise beautiful god-gift called ‘Life’?

Sometime back, a psychiatrist tried to deconstruct this academic mystery. According to him, there are three broad reasons:

First is Genetic. It is there in the genes. Somebody whose grandpa has committed the suicide is more prone. It’s like one is more likely to have diabetes because of the family history. It does not mean that one will commit it because of the genes. It’s the possibility.

Second is Chemical Imbalance. Dopamine, or something similar, is a chemical in our brain that controls our mood. For some people, this chemistry is not right. It’s similar to not having the proper thyroid level in your body or not having proper secretion of a particular hormone. Not necessarily such deficiency may lead to suicide. But yes, there is a sufficient chance.

Third is behavioral/environment. It depends on the circumstances, like abuse, accidental trauma, grief due to death of near ones, failures in education, profession or relation, and so on. These are difficult times that affect our emotional well-being. Again, it does not lead to suicide automatically but may have the potential to derail.

The theorists can debate for more reasons, but nobody can vouch for sure. These causes are only probabilities.

The real reason may be a sudden impulse caused by multiple factors.

So, can we blame the person for this act? Is he like any other criminal?

Or, is he like any other patient, entitled to get the care?

Once, a young girl lived in our neighborhood...

Once, not so long ago, there was a bright young girl.

Often, the teachers praised her academic talent – she was above average in studies.   

Frequently, the friends asked her to sing a Bollywood number – she was a gifted signer.

She had dreams to fly in the sky one day. That did not mean simply to be able to purchase an airline ticket. She wanted much more –to conquer the world perhaps.

Her parents were proud of her. Yet, they were eager to marry her off as soon as possible.

And she was an obedient daughter.

So, she got married.

Soon, she had a child.

Taking care of her family became her fulltime job.

Everybody saw her doing that job but nobody knew about her feeling…

…of how she felt about the lost dreams,

…of pressures of not being financially independent,

…of the incompatibility with her husband,

…of the helplessness that nothing could improve the situation,

…of perhaps many more issues, pinching her day in and day out,

She was unable to share her feelings with her parents – they would feel the guilt, thought she.

What could she share to her husband, who might be a reason for her troubles!

Her child was too small to listen.

The friends considered her as a happily married. How come she had pent-up emotions, thought they.     

And she was not aware of any helpline. Or perhaps such help-lines did not have enough media exposure to reach to someone like her.  

One day, recently, she committed suicide.

Now, everyone is wondering why?

Suicide by a doctor and a nurse...

March 15, 2014

Chief medical officer of 'Aligarh Muslim University' commits suicide 

March 16, 2014

AIIMS nurse commits suicide in Delhi

These news items are almost unnoticed amid the hullaballoo of General Elections.

  

       Suicides by a doctor and a nurse at the institutions of repute are like just any other incident.

But if we try to understand, it may mean that the medical fraternity is also not immune to what we otherwise presume:

That, the doctors and the nurses can get better “treatment” if required.

Perhaps it may be true only for the usual diseases, and may not be so for the depressed and suicidal…

Why?

The psychiatrists are also there in a hospital. A nurse or a doctor can easily get their appointment if needed.

Then how come suicide still finds its takers among the healthcare professionals?

Do we need something more than our usual apparatus of serving the patients?

Or the mindset of the society that discriminates between the mental illness and other general illnesses is not right?

Why can’t we talk about our depression as openly as we talk about common cough and cold?

Why can’t we discuss about our suicidal thoughts as easily as we can discuss about our kidney or liver problems.

Absence of an emotional healthcare system, integrated with the professional medical services, is perhaps another reason.

That’s why many of us silently suffer from our mental trauma – that may be chronic or acute.

Even, the family members and the workplace colleagues remain ignorant of what a depressed or suicidal person is going through…

Perhaps the timely intervention may save more lives…but first we should be ready to listen… 

...Are we? 

Suicide attempt by security personnel

Pressures of being a security official is not easy to cope with..especially if one becomes aware of the secrets of the VIPs and the danger of that knowledge...


Fear of prosecution, Uncertainty of future, Shame of not being able to speak for the truth, Guilt of doing something under pressure against the honour , etc...any emotion can block the normal progress of life in such situation.. 


An unbiased professional emotional support system can help such a person..


Perhaps, our security agencies should involve some outside organizations like Sumaitri to facilitate the unburdening of choked emotions of their officials...



Ishrat Jahan Case: Constable part of Vanzara, Pandey’s security attempts suicide | The Indian Express

News: perception and reality...

Three headlines of the last week:

1. Two inmates commit suicide inside Tihar jail.

    Message: condition of inmates inside a prestigious jail

2. Two students commit suicide in Hyderabad during the protests against Telengana.

    Message: anger against the making of a new state by central Govt.

3. An ex-constable of paramilitary force trying to commit suicide in Delhi arrested

    Message: paramilitary soldier’s plight and the quick police action

On the surface, these headlines conveyed different messages, as conveyed by the media or understood by the public.

Is it really so?

Let’s look at each of them closely.

First one, the suicide inside the jail, doesn’t concern most of us, as it is about those who have been punished by the law. They deserve it, we can say.

Does it matter if a criminal lives or dies?

Even if the crime is not fully proved, being inside the jail is sufficient to label a person.  We never distinguish between a crime and the criminal. And we are not interested why the criminal did it?

Should we bother?

Is the criminal a human being first? Does he need support to vent out his feelings? Of maybe guilt, or loneliness inside the prison cell, or the anger against the system, or the stress of what will happen to him in the future, and so on.

What if the criminal gets a chance to reform?  -To lead a normal life… so that the crime rate will eventually go down…

Or maybe the person, before doing the crime, has an emotional support system available so that he or she can release the choked feelings, and perhaps think more rationally…?

Second news, of students’ suicide, connects immediately with the people divided clearly between the favour and against of formation of a new state. How an agitation can go to such extreme?  

And the suicides could not stop the Govt to pass the Telengana bill.

Amid all the politics, nobody thought about the students who ended their lives openly.

Were those students so stressed that they had no other option left?

Did they have proper support system to vent out their choked feelings?

Did they really want to die? Or was it their call for help?

Were they able to share their suppressed feelings with somebody around?

     

What if they had someone to unlock their anger and channelize their energy for a better tomorrow?

Third headline, the suicide attempt by a paramilitary constable, got chewed with a little amusement.  A drama played out in public place and quick response by usually inefficient policemen saved a life.

Nobody asked why a depressed person was sent to the prison.

Because, the law is like that only. Trying to commit suicide is punishable under Indian Penal Code.

The constable, in news, had served in Border Security Force.

Are we insensitive enough not to bother about a soldier?  

Did he have sufficient support to vent out his emotions?

What if he had someone to share his agony and lead him to proper medical care if required?

Do our military and paramilitary forces have a proper emotional support mechanism in place for such a soldier?

To protect our national borders can have at times a toll on the emotional health of the soldier. Who is there for him in such a difficult times?

So,

Underneath, all the above three are about the absence of a suitable support system for the stressed souls.

As a human being, are we ready to provide such a care to anybody in need?

to share the suicide feelings on web...

a website called suicide project:

http://suicideproject.org/about/

Myths about suicide

           Some false notions in our society are so prevalent that they sometimes play a crucial and negative role in our psyche if we try to help a suicidal person. 

Here is a list of such false notions:   

1. People talking about suicide will never do it. 
           

            Almost every person who commits or attempts suicide has given some clue or warning.

          

            “I’ll do it very soon.”

            “I have no choice but to end it for once and all.”

            “I don’t know what I’ll do tomorrow.”

            “It’s the only option I have.”

... Such statements even if told casually are matter of concern and may be because of suicidal feelings hidden under the calm and composed person.

            Do not ignore such statements. They may signal the call for help...

2. Anyone who tries to commit suicide must be crazy. 

            Most suicidal people are not psychotic or insane. They must be upset, grief-stricken, depressed or despairing, but extreme distress and emotional pain are not necessarily signs of mental illness.

3. If a person is determined to end the life, nothing is going to stop them. 

            Even the most severely depressed person has mixed feelings about death, wavering until the very last moment between wanting to live and wanting to die. Most suicidal people do not want death; they want the pain to stop. The impulse to end it all, however overpowering, does not last forever.

            A suicidal person can be saved from committing it.

4. People who commit suicide are people who were unwilling to seek help. 

            Studies of suicide victims have shown that more than half had sought medical help in the six months prior to their deaths.

5. If one tries to ask about the suicide, it will give the idea of suicide to that person

            A suicidal person doesn't get this idea from others. 

            In fact, talking about it with someone releases his stress.

            So, don’t hesitate to ask about the suicide if you have any doubt about the depressed person.  

An experience..of hope..

Being and Becoming: SUMAITRI -A NEW LEASE OF LIFE: Depression is horrifying. People kill themselves, unable to face immeasurable grief. If there were a reason for grief it would make the proc...

Sumaitri : a crisis intervention centre

www.sumaitri.net 
Call if depressed or suicidal : 011-23389090

Depression

During the journey called life, we all feel depressed at some point. And then recover to move on. But some of us find it difficult to cope. Maybe because nobody is there, or to share the woes with someone is not easy.  

  

At times, the situation is beyond our control, making us feel helpless. We want to share such difficulty with an understanding person, but if we can’t, it makes us lonely and more prone to depression.

As such, the depression is widely misused term. In our daily routine, slight disturbance can put us under its spell. To overcome it, we need positive attitude that’s not available off the shelf. We need an in-built mechanism for this menace. If it is not there then an outside support is required to remind or rekindle that mechanism.

A helpline like Sumaitri can provide that support, provided one is ready to take that help. But, it’s not panacea. To think that someone else can solve our own difficult issues is escapism. But to vent out the locked emotions, and share the plans to build the future always helps…