Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan yesterday called for the decriminalisation of attempting suicide in Guyana.
Ramjattan weighed in on the issue while addressing persons gathered at the launch of the Inter-Agency Suicide Prevention Helpline at the Officers’ Training Centre, at High and Young streets, Georgetown.
The first half of this year has already seen 46 reports of suicide, 29 of which emanated from the Berbice area.
Referring to suicide as a “scourge on our society” that has left him “genuinely disturbed,” Ramjattan called for “Guyana [to] move toward the decriminalisation of attempted suicide.”
Acknowledging that suicide is a unique crime since “the person involved is both the perpetrator and the victim,” he added that because of this attempted suicide must be treated differently.
He noted that under the Criminal Law Offences Act, attempted suicide is a misdemeanour offence for which persons could be liable for imprisonment for two years.
He, however, argued that studies have shown that penal action is “wholly unnecessary and self-defeating,” since punishing survivors fails to address the root causes of their actions, which are varied.
He stressed that doctors rather than policemen should be involved in the prevention of suicide and that an effective suicide solution requires a broader collaborative approach, with efforts of medical health professionals supported by wider social change to stop the stigma and isolation.
The minster urged debate on the decriminalisation of suicide, while stating that it would be interesting to hear a counterargument since there is a lot supporting evidence for decriminalisation.
Ramjattan’s comments and the launch of the prevention helpline come after Guyana was identified in a World Health Organisation (WHO) study as the country with the highest suicide rate per capita.
Ramjattan referred to the rates of suicide in Guyana as “extraordinarily high,” especially in the county of Berbice and within the East Indian male demographic.
He noted that recently compiled statistics from the Guyana Police Force show that on average there are 50 suicides per 100,000 in Berbice, with the second largest figure being 36 per 100,000 in Supenaam.
The data also shows that for the 129 suicide reports in 2013, Berbice had the highest number (42) and most were East Indians.
Further, 90 of the 129 reports were of male victims. Ramjattan indicated that the same trend continued in 2014, when there were 97 suicides. Again most of the reports involved male victims, while 68 of the reports were persons of East Indian descent.
