KARACHI: Describing the data of a five-year study on suicides in Sindh as “unrealistic and grossly under-reported”, speakers at a seminar organised on Thursday at a local hotel emphasised the need for properly documenting and investigating cases of suicide as well as de-criminalising the offence to encourage its reporting.

They also called for creating awareness of helplines, increasing the number of psychiatrists across the province and a multi-sectoral and district-wise approach to help save lives.

The event was organised by Sindh Mental Health Authority (SMHA) to share and discuss findings of its research on suicides during period from 2016 to 2020 in Sindh.

It included only those suicide cases which were registered at district health offices and the police department.

The programme started off with chairman of SMHA Dr Karim Ahmed Khawaja highlighting the need for the study and acknowledging support from departments and organisations in data compilation.

“Unless we have legislation on suicide prevention, we can’t move forward and pursue this matter effectively,” he said, adding that the research team couldn’t find attempt-to-suicide cases as they were not registered.

‘Suicide study data grossly under-reported’

Thar tops list

Giving a presentation on the study, author of the study Ali Murad Talpur said a total of 767 cases of suicide were registered in Sindh in the five-year period.

The data showed that Tharparkar district had the highest number of suicides in five years (79). It also had the highest female suicides (48) in the entire province with more women (48) ending their lives than men (31).

The other district where female suicide (36) was higher than men (34) was Mirpurkhas (total 70 cases).

The number of suicide cases in other districts in last five years were: Badin (77), Dadu (73), Sanghar (66), Umerkot (64) were found to have the highest number of suicide cases followed by Tando Allahyar (40), Tando Mohammad Khan (33), Naushahro Feroze (31), Hyderabad (28), Malir (24), Shikarpur (23), Karachi West (19), Shaheed Benazirabad (18) and Sujawal (18).

Moreover Jamshoro had 14, Thatta (13), Karachi East (12), Karachi South (12), Ghotki (12), Matiari (10), Karachi Central (8), Jacobabad (7), Qambar-Shahdadkot (5), Khairpur (4), Larkana (3), Sukkur (3) and Kashmore (1).

According to gender-wise classification of suicide cases, 462 men and 301 women ended their life across the province.

The highest rate of male suicide was marked in districts Badin, Sanghar, Dadu, Umerkot, Mirpurkhas and Tando Allahyar. Female suicide cases in other districts were Dadu (36), Badin (30), Sanghar (28) and Umerkot (27).

A total of 75 suicide cases were registered in Karachi from 2016-2020 with district Malir reporting the highest number of cases (24) in five years and last year.

“We found incomplete information about the cases which made it hard to meet the study criteria,” recalled Talpur.

The team also recorded 6.1 per cent of suicide cases among children aged 10 to 15 years. It recorded 13.9pc suicide cases in 16-20 age group.

Statistics show that 33pc of suicide victims were married and 18.7pc unmarried in Karachi while 28.3pc and 21.7pc of victims were married and unmarried respectively in Larkana, Sukkur and Shaheed Benazirabad divisions.

Over 50pc of victims were married while 16.8pc were unmarried in Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas divisions.

The study identifies domestic issues emerging from financial constraints, marital disharmony, mental illness, emotional turmoil and failure in love as the most common factors behind suicide.

Societal apathy

Terming the study’s findings “unrealistic”, DIGP administration Zulfiqar Larik representing the police department said suicide cases occurring in the province were much higher in number. “We are losing lives because of our apathy. We neither realise the severity of the problem nor, as a society, have shown the willingness to address it,” he remarked, recalling that he was shocked to learn of the high number of suicides in Mirpurkhas during his posting in the district.

He underscored the need for building police capacity in suicide documentation and investigation as well as positively changing general response towards the offence through different interventions.

“We need to have a targeted approach by focusing on at least five districts reporting a higher number of cases. That would bring a 50pc reduction in suicide cases.”

During the discussion, speakers emphasised the need for training health workers in identification of mental illness, youth engagement in skill development, access to psychological counselling and carrying out district-wise studies on suicide, specifically on Thar.

“Every study has some limitations. I think the study has sufficient data to make decisions and take actions,” said Dr Haider Naqvi of Dow University of Health Sciences.

Dr Iqbal Afridi and Dr Haroon Ahmed also spoke.

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2021