More counselling centres could reduce Suicides - Prof. Siri Hettige

By Kurulu Kariyakarawana

The last two weeks sent shock waves hearing the untimely deaths of two schoolgirls who hanged themselves for various reasons based on certain issues which cropped up in the popular social media website Facebook.

A Police detective who shot himself to death due to frustration and a man who hanged himself after killing his friend's wife as well as the mother of two who jumped in front of an oncoming train with her children were shocking stories we heard throughout the past few weeks that made us question whether the value for human life has taken a downturn and people were driven to such low levels so as to end their precious lives in this manner.

Suicide is a common cause of unnatural death and a long- term social issue in Sri Lanka. According to reports almost 4000 persons, male and female irrespective of age commit suicide every year. This has been a common problem for the past five decades. It has been so even prior to the time of independence. However, it has again become the talk of the town especially with the deaths of the two schoolgirls as well as due to the three suicide cases reported in Tangalle where an elderly man shot himself, a 17-year-old boy hanged himself in Galle and and a 21-year-old woman hanged herself from a tree in Mankulam on the same day, last Wednesday.

As a third world, developing country some of the most common reasons which make people commit suicide was mainly due to excessive stress from poverty, disputes in the family, failed love affairs, addiction to narcotics, domestic violence and unemployment. Among the most shocking cases reported in the recent past parents who find it practically impossible to feed their children were seen committing suicide after killing their offspring. And many young lives ended in depression and frustration over failed romances while women who suffer from domestic violence embraced it as a last resort.

Studies done by Dr. Neil Fernando, Head of the National Institute of Mental Health, in 2011 revealed that the majority of the victims were between the ages of 15 to 44. According to statistics of the Registrar General's Department, the suicide rate of the country during Independence in 1948 was nine cases per 100, 000 people. This increased up to 19 cases per 100, 000 in 1970 and further increased to 33 per 100, 000 in 1980 which remained to be static thereafter.

In Sri Lanka, people use various methods to commit suicide. Out of nearly 15 recognised ways consuming poison, hanging and drowning by jumping into running waters take the lead.

According to the Police Department Statistics Division the methods of committing suicide has been categorised as consuming pesticide and weedicide, hanging or strangulation, jumping into rivers, wells or the sea, by using firearms, jumping into trains, by using sharp objects like blades, self immolation, consuming liquid acids, taking drugs like sleeping tablets or pain killers, consuming fuel like kerosene, consuming poisonous plants or seeds, jumping off from elevated positions like buildings and consuming or injecting narcotics.

Despair

In Sri Lanka the number of males who had committed suicide is far greater than the number of females who end their lives in despair. This is a fact looking at the statistics of the mentioned methods of committing suicide except for one method, which is self immolation. The number of female self immolation cases reported in the history to date is greater than such male deaths.

In 2013, 76 females self immolated whereas only 50 males had died in the same way. In 2012 it was 85 to 50 and in 2011 it was 97 to 39. In 2010 hundred females self immolated with only 44 male cases reported. According to experts most of these cases have been reported as a result of domestic violence in poverty stricken families in the rural areas.

The total number of suicide deaths reported last year was 3, 461 of which 2, 701 were males and 760 were females. Out of this most number of the male deaths had been reported in the age group of over 71 years which is 305 and the most number of female deaths were reported between the ages of 21 to 25 which is 118. The most desired method of committing suicide was by hanging where 1328 males and 288 females have died.

Secondly most suicides were reported due to consuming poisons such as pesticides and weedicide which is 952 male deaths and 195 female deaths. Also 141 deaths had been reported due to drowning or jumping into the water. 130 persons have committed suicide by eating poisonous plants or seeds whereas 107 have died on the rail track by jumping into the on coming train. It is also noteworthy that in the smallest age group which is between 08 to 16 years most of number of suicide cases have been reported among girls which is 55 and only 29 boys have died.

This had so far proved right where a 16-year-old schoolgirl who was brutally scolded by her Principal in Kurunegala for posting certain personal photographs on the Facebook, decided to end her life in severe depression and the 19-year-old girl in Elpitiya who hanged herself due to the unbearable embarrassment caused by her false identity maintained on the Facebook, whilst carrying on an affair with a youth being exposed. These were not the only cases that claimed lives due to issues involving the improper and immature ways of using a social media website.

Committing suicide is a grave social issue that could be developed into a fast spreading trend in no time with one or two similar deaths, might claim a number of other lives on such petty matters. Many social groups feared that these deaths due to immature and improper use of social media would pave the way for a national question on prohibiting such social media websites that had created a sound socio economic culture in the modern society.

Explaining about these suicide trends Professor, Department of Sociology at the University of Colombo Siri Hettige said a widely exposed case may create a trend by others trying to imitate it. There are many distressed people who are in the same situation suffering from frustration, depression and hopelessness in the society. Although the reasons behind one person's death is different to others, the rest are tempted to follow that.

According to Prof. Hettige some of the main reasons leading to suicide in Sri Lanka has been identified as abject poverty, youth stress and domestic violence. And also lack of education among middle aged people would encourage them to resort to suicide instead of solving the issue in a professional manner. People suffering from severe depression should be identified and be treated for their mental conditions. Community centres should be set up to handle this situation with trained staff to conduct counselling sessions. Lack of proper counselling centres in the country can be seen as one of the reasons why many such people go unnoticed and their lives end in vain.

Suffe

The public should be more vigilant about these people who suffer from various psychological conditions. It is the responsibility of society as well as the grassroot level government servants who are there to render services to people. For example Grama Seva Officers are being appointed for a community of 500 families. There are Samurdhi officers, midwives and number of other government servants that engaged in a society who could assist such vulnerable people to get help from the right place.

Between 1995 to 1996 Sri Lanka experienced a serious situation due to the high number of suicide cases reported compared to previous years. A special Presidential Task Force was appointed to look into the matter and to mitigate the problem by inventing and enforcing new policies. A number of proposals that could help to control the situation were adopted yet the authorities missed out two important recommendations or rather neglected.

First one was to set up a professional counselling system in schools. The experts recommended to appoint a trained counsellor to each and every school in the country where students with problems can seek of some sort of mental support and relief. That could save many lives instead of these deaths reported among teenage students over immature reasons. "I was the Senior Student Counsellor of the University of Colombo fro 1989 to 1992. Because we introduced a fully fledged system to counsel students many lives had been saved. We could easily find resources to establish counselling systems in schools. A teacher can be trained and appointed as a student counsel which is a cost free method. The next recommendation was to establish sufficient counselling centres in the community level. A large number of graduates released every year can be given a training to be appointed as counsellors in these centres which in another way would solve the job crisis as well.

Problem

However it has been ignored by the authorities due to the lack of professionalism. Although the root of the problem has been identified and the answer to that was figured out, it will never be put into practice due to the cynical attitude of the people. Social issues like suicide can be addressed effectively but the Sri Lankan mindset will take a long time to overcome these problems.

The Professor also stressed that parents have a major role to play in this national problem.They have to be aware of the mental condition of their children who maybe facing many problems in school or in the home front. Parents should have the capacity to understand how the modern child would embrace social networking media and its unhealthy consequences. First hand counselling should come from the home background by parents who understand the mindset of their teenage son or daughter.

It was evident in the recent cases of suicide that parents did not have enough interaction in the lives of their daughters who may have thought committing suicide was the option in their situations. It is disappointing to witness how educated teenagers from sound family backgrounds resort to suicide for petty reasons leaving behind their families who cannot understand for the word of them what really went wrong.