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The Mental Health Authority calls for the repeal of the Ghana Penal Code 1960, Law 29, Article 57 which criminalizes suicide.
According to the Authority, punishing citizens who do not end their life because of certain difficulties they face is not the ideal way to solve problems, especially when they have not received the necessary support from the society.
According to the Authority, these people should receive psychological assistance rather than serving a prison sentence.
“Put simply, these people cried out for help, we let them down. They took steps to kill themselves and also failed to kill themselves. Should we punish them when they cried for help? Definitely not! But our current law criminalizes suicide. They do not deserve punishment but simply need psychological support.
“The punishment worsens their plight and prevents them from being useful members of their community. However, there is enough evidence to show that psychological support can make them, once again, useful and valuable members of their communities. “
Ghana Penal Code, Ghana Law 29, Section 57; Subsection II, 1960, provides that “whoever attempts to commit suicide is guilty of an offense”.
A person who attempts to commit suicide is therefore liable to arrest and prosecution and is liable to criminal penalties in the event of conviction.
The Mental Health Authority has launched this advocacy as part of its efforts to commemorate World Suicide Prevention Day, which takes place on September 10 each year.
The theme of this year’s celebration is “A Renewed Global Commitment to Suicide Prevention: Creating Hope Through Action”.
According to the Authority, suicide education has become more than before very necessary “because many people are severely affected by various issues that cause them to decide to commit suicide, contributing to the painful global statistics that” someone is dying. by suicide every 40 seconds’ “.
The Authority in its press release revealed that in June of this year, 417 Ghanaians had attempted suicide.
The data on suicide are alarming as the Authority admitted that “these numbers may even be higher than we think” due to the stigma and fear of the repercussions on the community that these people have.
Statistics show that in 2018 the number of people who attempted suicide was 797. The number rose to 880 in 2019 but fell to 777 in 2020.
For the Mental Health Authority, set aside a day to raise awareness of risk factors and the premeditating causes of suicide, inform the population about suicide prevention strategies and the management of suicidal ideation while seeking to reduce the number to a strict minimum. of suicides and attempted suicides is imperative.
The Authority also listed some signs that people should watch out for. These include “openly expressing intention to commit suicide, withdrawing from family, friends and society, expressing no purpose in life, no interest in living, painting, writing and talking about death,” death or suicide, express despair and find ways to commit suicide with poisonous substances, rope, among others.
Meanwhile, the Authority urged the media to educate the population on this phenomenon which has no respect for age, gender or social class.
“A person who commits suicide is worrying and those suicide numbers are painfully far too high. There must be a concerted effort to end this phenomenon. We call on our suicide awareness campaign partners and our media partners not to relax their efforts to continue this advocacy. “
Additionally, the Mental Health Authority has asked businesses and telecommunications companies to help it in its efforts to establish a suicide prevention call center.
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