Suicide Prevention and Intervention India
Suicide prevention and intervention efforts in India are in the nascent stage. According to the World Health Organization, suicide in India is a serious public health issue but it can be prevented with timely interventions that are based on evidence. Suicide prevention is also one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG3.4.2) wherein they have asked member countries to work towards reduce global suicide rates by one third by 2030. Notable steps taken by the Government of India include the decriminalization of suicide in the Mental HealthCare Act of 2017 and launching of India 's first mentalhealth toll free helpline KIRAN. Many experts have emphasised the urgent need for a national strategy for suicide prevention to be implemented that is multi-sectoral in nature. However, India is yet to formulate its national strategy. Many organizations, including mental health NGOs, work towards suicide prevention in India by running crisis helplines and raising awareness. A recent study in Lancent shows that a lot more needs to done for India to meet UN's goal of suicide rate reduction. Reducing stigma and increasing awareness and commitment to suicide prevention including allocating resources is the need of the  hour. Government Initiatives. Decriminalization of suicide. The Mental Health Care Act 2017 negated laws of Section 109 of Indian Penal Code and stated that attempting suicide is not a crime. The person attempting suicide is believed to be under a lot of stress and does not warrant punishment. Furthermore, the act announces provisions such as access to free healthcare and rehabilitation for people who attempt suicide. Kiran. Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment launched 'Kiran' 1800-599-0019- a toll-free 24*7 mental health helpline- in September 2020 to help individuals in need of mental health support. The aim of  the helpline, which was developed by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) is to provide psychological support in the wake of increasing distress and psychosocial vulnerabilities due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The helpline will provide services such as screening, mental health first aid, crisis management and referrals to other mental health professionals. Over 600 clinical psychologists and psychiatrists are involved in the helpline. Calls can be made in 13 languages: Hindi, Assamese, Tamil, Marathi, Odia, Telugu, Malayalam, Gujarati, Punjabi, Kannada, Bengali, Urdu and English. Compensation for family members of Covid positive suicide victims. On September 23, 2021 , the Union Government of India said that they are considering providing monetray assistance to bereaved family members of individuals who died by suicide within thirty days of being diagnosed with Covid. This took place after the Supreme Court's advice to include suicide deaths as being caused by distress from Covid-19. Non-Government initiatives. Awareness raising and research. Organizations such as Sangath, Hank Nunn Institute (HNI) and Aasra conduct events such as webinars, discussions and workshops to create spaces for discussions around suicide. Aasra targets high risk groups such as students and conducts outreach programs to reach out to them . HNI provides crisis management services to organizations wherein some employees may be dealing with suicide attempts or death of a team member. Sangath conducted a research on 'Young Lives Matter' to understand the reasons contributing to suicide attempts in India's youth. Through their Project SIREN, Centre for Mental Health Law and Policy (CMHLP) evaluate the extent to which Indian newspapers follow the WHO guidelines on Media Reporting of Suicides and also offer a free online course for media professionals to learn how to report suicides responsibly. Community programs. Centre for Mental Health Law and Policy (CMHLP) work to implement  evidence baacked suicide prevention interventions in rural India through their Suicide Prevention and Implementation Research Initiative (SPIRIT). Interventions include training youth and making them aware of mental health, safely storing pesticides and training community people to identify and support at-risk individuals. In collaboration with Sangath, Quicksand Design Studio, Centre for Mental Health Law and Policy (CMHLP) are leading a program called iOutlive! where suicides among young people in Urban India belonging to marginalized and deprived identities will be addressed. Interventions include resource sharing, campaigns and chat based peer support services. Gatekeeper training. Suicide Prevention India Foundation (SPIF) have collaborated  with the QPR institute to offer gate keeping training in India. This training aims to equip members of the public with basic knowledge about the signs of suicide and first aid skills so that they can identify and support a person undergoing a suicide crisis. SPIF is also working to create a community of gatekeepers in India so that help is more accessible to those who need it. National Alliance for Suicide Prevention. Mariwala Health Initiative has announced a National Alliance to bring together individuals from multiple sectors including research and policy to work towards a common goal of suicide  prevention. They aim to support community based interventions and prioritise the lived experiences of individuals. They've also published a report titled 'Suicide Prevention: Changing the Narrative' where the Indian scenario is summarised. Helplines. Many organizations run helplines to provide immediate support to individuals facing suicidal thoughts or urges. Please see List of suicide crisis lines. Centralized pesticide-storage facility. Vijayakumar and colleagues (supported by the Sneha Suicide Prevention Centre in India and WHO) constructed two centralized storage facilities in two villages in Tamil Nadu as an effort to reduce pesticide-related suicides. Farmers could store their pesticides in storage  boxes (similar to a bank locker) and they could access their pesticide-storage boxes with the key to their own locker. There was a significant reduction in pesticide suicides in the villages where this facility was constructed compared to other villages in Tamil Nadu.