Suicides of married women: A problem long-ignored

Suicides of married women: A problem long-ignored

News:

1. The recent Lancet article titled Gender differentials and state variations in suicide deaths in India: the Global Burden of Disease Study 1990–2016 highlights the problem of suicide deaths in India.

Important Facts:

2. Highlights of the Lancet article on suicide deaths in India

• Global comparison:Suicide is already the 9th leading cause of death and India’s contribution to global suicide deaths increased from 25.3% in 1990 to 36.6% in 2016 among women, and from 18.7% to 24.3% among men.
• Adult suicides: Suicide was the leading cause of death in India in 2016 for those aged 15–39 years (71.2% among women) and (57.7% among men) were in this age group.
• Compared to road accidents: There were more than 2 lakh suicide deaths in India in 2016 which is 50% more than the number of people who died in road accidents in the country, in the same year.
• Comparison with past: The suicide rates in 2016 are 40% more from the rates in 1990.
• Comparison amongst states:

a) Five southern states (Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Kerala) along with West Bengal and Tripura are the most vulnerable to suicides.

b) The more conservative and economically backward states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Orissa have the least number of suicides among women.

• Gender comparison:

a) The suicide rate among Indian women is higher than that among men. This is contrary to the worldwide trend of more men committing suicide than women.

b) The number of suicides by women in India in 2016 was 2.1 times higher than the global average.

3. Reasons for suicides:

• Biological factors: For example depression and mental illness.
• Sociological factors: For example unemployment, domestic violence, gender inequality etc.
• Economic factors: For example crop failure, high debt rates etc.
• A combination of these factors at various levels can also increase the vulnerability to suicides.

4. Challenges to identify suicide tendency:

• Difficult to detect: Unlike other health issues, where the cause of the problem is usually a virus or a microorganism that can be easily diagnosed, suicide tendency cannot be noted easily.
• No medicine therapy:Suicide tendency cannot be eradicated by taking a few medicines daily for a few months, rather it involves various behavioural aspects.
• Socially contagious: Although suicide is an individual act, there are several indications that it is a socially contagious problem. This contagion effect is called the Werther effect.
• For example, studies have reported that even mere newspaper reports on the suicide or sensitive portrayal of the inner angst of an individual who committed suicide in media tended to increase suicide rates.

5. Countering the suicidal tendency:

• Papageno effect: This is an effective strategies to counter the Werther effect. This protective effect involves reminding the person of alternatives to dying.
• Media collaboration: Media can make relevant contribution to suicide prevention by minimising sensationalist reporting, and maximising reporting on how to cope with suicidal tendencies and adverse circumstances.

6. Wake up call for India:

• The policy makers in India should prepare an effective strategy to prevent this public illness.

Though India has always taken pride in the stability of its families but women have always been the lynchpins of the emotional well-being of these families. It should be sorted soon with proper action framework.