A Study On Suicide & Socially & Legally Possible Recommendations For Suicide Prevention In Sri Lanka

By W.A.G.R. Jayalath and E.R.H.T. Gunawardana –MARCH 30, 2021

Although the suicide rate has dropped in recent years, the incidence of suicide attempts is still high. However, the issue of suicide has always been a topic of news. It is possible to see news of suicide almost every day. This is well experienced in Sri Lanka. The purpose of this research was to study the legal and social provisions for suicide, and to make suggestions for suicide reduction. It also conducted a small comparative study in this regard with several other countries. In conducting this study, websites, daily news, expert opinions and reputable statistics were used as sources. It is emphasized that the mental state of the people should be developed and the gaps related to suicide in the law should be taken into consideration. It was also concluded that in Sri Lanka, suicide laws need to be developed and social attitudes towards suicide need to be changed and social development taken place.

Introduction

Suicide is one of the biggest problems in the world, and according to the WHO, nearly 800,000 people commit suicide each year. It can be expressed as one person every 40 seconds.[1] Of these, South Asia occupied a significant position and Sri Lanka showed significant growth in some years. In 1995, Sri Lanka had the highest number of suicides and, it was 47 per 100,000. There can be many reasons for this. However, subsequent gradual suicide deaths have decreased in Sri Lanka. But the number of suicide attempts is high. According to 2016 sources, 79% of suicides occur in low and middle-income countries and 1.4% of the world’s deaths were suicides.[2]

This is an issue that affects not just one area, one group of people, but the whole society. This research aimed to find recommendations to reduce suicides, especially since it is essential to safeguard the future of the country. Because suicide often reduces the country’s labor force. Sometimes people who have the ability to do something new and valuable to the country and the world are lost to the world because of a decision they make instantly. Therefore, this topic is extremely valuable and deserves everyone’s attention.

This paper is mainly divided into 6 sub-topics. The first part focuses on what suicide is and the opinions on the subject. The second part focuses on suicide in Sri Lanka, the third part deals with the world’s suicide statistics based on Sri Lanka, and under the fourth sub-topic is devoted to a study of the current laws on suicide in Sri Lanka, India, Singapore. The next part is devoted to the findings of this research and the final part discusses the socially and legally possible recommendations for mitigating the problem of suicide. The issue of suicide, which has become a major problem in the world, is one of the most serious problems for a developing country like Sri Lanka due to the collapse of the aforementioned workforce.

What is suicide?

Suicide is described as the deliberate act of causing one’s own death. Substance abuse, mental illnesses, and physical disorders are also risk factors. Some suicides are impulsive acts resulting from stress (including such financial or academic problems), relationship issues, or harassment/bullying.[3] Those that have attempted suicide before are at a greater risk of doing so again. Those that have attempted suicide before are at a greater risk of doing so again.[4] Limiting access to suicidal approaches such as weapons, medications, and poisons; treating mental illness and substance abuse; vigilant media reporting on suicide; and improving financial climate are all effective suicide prevention strategies. Despite the fact that crisis hotlines are common, they have not been thoroughly researched. The most common method of suicide varies by country and is partly determined by the availability of effective methods. Suicide techniques include hanging, pesticide poisoning, and the use of weapons.[5] Suicides claimed the lives of 828,000 people worldwide in 2015, up from 712,000 in 1990. Suicide had become the tenth main cause of death.[6]

Suicide accounts for around 1.5 percent of all deaths worldwide.  This equates to around 12 per 100,000 people in a given year.  Completed suicide rates are usually higher in males than in females, ranging from 1.5 times in developing countries to 3.5 times in developed countries. Suicide is most common in people over the age of 70, although in some countries, people between the ages of 15 and 30 are at the greatest risk. In 2015, Europe had the highest suicide rates of any country. a Per year, there’s an estimated 10 to 20 million non-fatal suicide attempts. Suicide attempts that do not result in death can result in injuries and long-term disabilities. Attempts are more common among young people and women in the Western world.

Religion, dignity, and the meaning of life have all had an effect on people’s attitudes toward suicide. Because of their belief in the sanctity of life, Abrahamic sects have historically viewed suicide as a sin against God. Mostly during samurai period in Japan, seppuku, a type of suicide, was revered as a way of making amends for failure or as a form of protest.[7]Sati, a British Raj-outlawed tradition, expected the Indian widow to commit suicide on her husband’s funeral fire, either voluntarily or under the influence of her family and community.

Suicide and attempted suicide were once illegal in most Western nations, but this is no longer the case. In certain nations, it is also a criminal offense. Suicide has been used as a method of protest on occasional occasions in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and suicide bombings have been used as military or terrorist strategies. Suicide is regarded negatively almost everywhere in the world, and it is always viewed as a huge tragedy for families, friends, and other local supporters.

Suicide in Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, suicide is a major public health issue. Sri Lanka has long been a tolerant society that supports such types of suicide, such as altruistic suicide. Suicides typically evoke concern for the deceased, so a permissive attitude toward suicide is often noted.

Suicide culture is often encouraged by some media reports that elevate the suicide to a heroic status. Lack of coping skills among vulnerable people and failure of friends and family to recognize their suffering are seen as major causes of the recent rise in suicide rates.

Easy access to lethal pesticides and medicines leads to high suicide rates by making lethal substances available for self-poisoning in times of distress. Undiagnosed and undertreated mental disorders, as well as alcohol and illegal drug-related deaths, are major contributory factors that need immediate attention. Other major factors warranting a socio-political debate include poverty, unemployment, migration of caregivers of disadvantaged people, discontent among youth, and isolation among the elderly.

Suicide rates in Sri Lanka rose sharply from the 1950s to 1995, rising by up to eightfold. Evidence suggests that 26% of people who committed suicide have made suicidal attempts in the past, with depression and alcohol use disorders being the most prevalent psychological disorders. Inhaling poisonous pesticides was the most popular form of suicide at the time. This rose to 47 per 100,000 in 1995, making Sri Lanka the nation with the world’s second highest suicide rate at the time. Suicide rates in Sri Lanka fell by half over the next decade, starting in 1995.[8]

According to a study presented at a conference in September 2011 by Dr. Neil Fernando, the head of the National Institute of Mental Health, nearly 4,000 people in Sri Lanka commit suicide each year.  The vast majority of victims were between the ages of 15 and 44, as per the data. As per the Registrar General’s office, the suicide rate in Sri Lanka was 9 per 100,000 people years ago of independence (1948). It climbed to 19 per 100,000 in the 1970s, and 33 per 100,000 by the mid-1980s. According to the most recent figures, Sri Lanka has a suicide rate of 15 per 100,000 people.[9]

Statistics on suicide

Suicide affects people of all countries, races, religions, genders, and social groups all over the world. According to estimates, the countries with the highest suicide rates are extremely diverse.

The eastern European country of Lithuania (31.9 suicides per 100k), the eastern European country of Russia (31 suicides per 100k), the South American country of Guyana (29.2 suicides per 100k), and the Asian country of South Korea are among the top five in the year (26.9 suicides per 100k). Belarus (26.2 suicides per 100k) and Suriname and Kazakhstan, both at about 22 suicides per 100k, are among the other eastern European countries with high suicide rates.[10]

Belgium, on the other hand, is the only western European country with a particularly high suicide rate, ranking eleventh with 20.7 suicides per 100,000 people. It’s worth noting, however, that Belgium has some of the world’s most liberal rules on doctor-assisted suicide, which is likely to play a role in the country’s statistics. Bhutan, which is known for calculating Gross National Happiness, a metric that measures a country’s population’s collective happiness and well-being, has a relatively high suicide rate of 11.4 per 100,000 people.

Surprisingly, many of the world’s most troubled countries have relatively low suicide rates. There are 4.7 suicides per 100,000 people in Afghanistan, three in Iraq, and just 1.9 in Syria. It’s unclear if the suicide figures for these countries represent suicides caused by mental health issues and terminal illnesses (which are the most common causes for suicide around the world) or suicides caused by other factors. The Bahamas, Jamaica, Grenada, Barbados, and Antigua and Barbuda have some of the world’s lowest suicide rates. Suicide is uncommon in these countries, with suicide rates of 0.8 and 0.5 per 100,000, respectively, in Barbados and Antigua and Barbuda.

Read More