Georgetown: Public Security Minister and Vice President Khemraj Ramjattan says that there is need to make strategic steps in tackling suicide prevention and decriminalisation of suicide attempts should be considered.
The Minister was at the time addressing the gathering at the launching ceremony of the Guyana Police’s Inter-Agency Suicide Prevention Helpline on Thursday at the Officers’ Training Centre, Eve Leary, Gerogetown. According to Ramjattan, attempted suicide is a punishable offence under Chapter 8:01 Section 96 of the Criminal Law (Offences) Act and has a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment.
However, the second Vice President noted that penal actions is wholly unnecessary and self defeating, since most persons attempting suicide are doing so to escape problems or out of a position of perceived hopelessness.
“They need, rather than imprisonment or prosecution that leads to imprisonment, adequate counselling and medical assistance. To punish survivors (we) then fail to address the root cause of the issue, which may have led to the attempts in the first place,” the Minister posited.
While the topic may brew much criticism, Ramjattan is of the view that there are a lot of supporting points to change the laws, noting that some 59 countries the world over have decriminalised attempted suicide.
On this note, the Public Security Minister urged that there be a debate on the decriminalisation of attempted suicide, adding that he wants to hear the arguments on why the offence should remain on the law books.
“People who survive need to be rehabilitated, not imprisoned… I prefer individuals rather than getting jail, lead productive lives after a period of counselling,” he stated. More so, Ramjattan recognised that decriminalisation of attempted suicide will not heal the social ills that lend to persons feeling inclined to commit such an act.
Furthermore, the second Vice President referred to a World Health Organisation (WHO) report in 2014 on suicide which stated that doctors, more than Police Officers, needs to be involved in suicide prevention efforts.
Meanwhile, Ramjattan went on to outlined that one of the many recommendations that the said report listed is the restriction of access to the means of suicide. He specifically raised concerns about the use of poisonous substances to end lives, which he noted is one of the two main means of committing suicide in Guyana. The other is hanging.
“Restricting access to the most common means, including pesticides, poisons and hazardous substances, it has worked in other countries as the report indicated we must ensure that it works here in Guyana. I wish to urge that the dealer and users of these substances, must ensure that they be kept in safe, secure places and not be left casually around the house or farm. They must be locked away,” he underscored.
Moreover, the Public Security Minister urged that there be more public awareness of safety regulations for the handling, usage and storage of pesticides.
According to records acquired by the Police, there were some 129 reports of suicide in 2013 with at least 90 of them being males of East Indian descent. This trend continued last year, when 97 reports of suicide were recorded of which 68 were males of East Indian descent.
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