Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony on Thurs-day tabled the Suicide Prevention Bill in the National Assembly which, once passed, will decriminalize attempted suicide and mandate counselling for survivors.
Guyana, for many years, has been on top of the chart for suicides per capita and according to the government, the bill is seeking to provide measures to fight that exceptionally high number of suicides and attempts.
The seven-part bill provides for the establishment of a Suicide Prevention Commission. It will repeal Sections 95 and 96 of the Criminal Law (Offences) Act which deals with procuring or abetting the commission of suicide and attempt to commit suicide and Section 202 of the Summary Jurisdiction (Offences) Act also dealing with attempts to commit suicide.
Under Guyanese law, attempted suicide is punishable by up to two years in prison upon conviction.
Part II of the bill stipulates that the Commission be comprised of the Chief Medical Officer, Chief Psychiatrist, Director of the Mental Health Unit of the Ministry of Health, Director of the Child Care and Protection Agency and Chief Education Officer as ex officio members. The Minister of Health is empowered to appoint a person to chair the commission, a medical practitioner, a psychiatrist, a nurse nominated by the Nursing Association, an attorney at law nominated by the Bar Association, two social workers proffered by the Association of Professional Social Workers, a representative of the Guyana Police Force, a representative of the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, a civil society representative nominated by the Private Sector Commission, a representative of the National Toshaos Council and a representative from each of the three major religions.
The Commission will be responsible for the preparation of a National Suicide Prevention Plan, and the planning, design and implementation of public programmes to reduce suicides and attempted suicides. It will also be tasked with the establishment of Suicide Prevention Centres across Guyana and suicide prevention training for human resource personnel.
While the bill imposes the mandate of providing support inclusive of counselling for survivors of suicide and their families on the Commission, it also creates an obligation for persons who attempted suicide and their families to seek counselling.
According to the Explanatory Memorandum of Anthony’s bill, Clause 20 seeks to ensure that there is no reporting of deaths by suicide or attempted suicide before the coroner approves the reporting. Reporting in the context of the bill speaks to media coverage including broadcasting, print, social media, and blogs among others.
The bill also seeks to make provision for the contents of the report where a person has died by suicide or suspected suicide. It restricts the report from including the method of suicide, the identity of the deceased and family members unless “the public interest in doing so clearly outweighs the risk of causing other suicides; clear and informed written consent has been provided to the person publishing the report by an adult family member, or if there is no such family member, an adult relative or adult close friend of the deceased; and no appropriate authority has requested that the report be withheld or delayed to avoid the risk of inducing further suicides; any information or language that sensationalizes, glamorizes, or trivializes suicide or that inappropriately stigmatizes suicide or people involved in suicides; any information that is unconfirmed or rumoured; and explicit images or headlines that may cause any public offence or alarm.”
It also mandates that media reports contain the relevant information about appropriate support services for a person contemplating suicide or those who attempted suicide.
Failure to adhere to those guidelines could result in a fine of $100,000 and up to three months imprisonment upon conviction. There is also a $2 million fine for body corporates that violates the reporting guidelines as well.
Part V of the bill speaks to the provision of outpatient mental health services for persons contemplating suicide. Medical personnel may also recommend hospitalization for persons believed to be acutely suicidal. It also establishes emergency helplines and quick response vehicles for persons requesting help in relation to suicide.
The bill also imposes the responsibility to report attempted or contemplation of suicides to the Commission or a Centre for immediate intervention. Medical personnel are also mandated to report suicides or cases of poisoning to the police.
The Court can order a person to receive temporary inpatient mental health treatment if their condition makes them likely to attempt suicide.
The bill also provides for a $2 million fine and 10 years of jail time for a person who “aids, counsels, procures or abet another person to commit suicide.” It also exonerates any person who, in an attempt to prevent suicide, uses reasonable force against the suicidal person.
