Ghana should review law criminalising suicide – Society

The Mental Health Society of Ghana (MEHSOG), has asked the Constitutional Review Committee and the Ghana Law Reform Commission to consider the revision of sections of the country’s laws that criminalise suicide.

People who commit or attempt to commit suicide suffer some form of mental disorders, MEHSOG said, and should rather be referred to the appropriate mental health facility for counseling and treatment.

The Executive Director of MEHSOG Mr Humphrey Koffie, in a joint statement with the Stakeholder Council of the Mental Health Leadership and Advocacy programme, made the call to mark the World Suicide Day which falls on September 10.

The day is set aside by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to raise awareness about suicide and it attendant effect on the population.

“We wish to use the opportunity to observe the day, calling on the Government of Ghana to take practical steps to prevent or reduce suicide cases,” Mr Koffie said.

There are more than 800,000 people who die due to suicide and every 40 seconds a person dies by suicide somewhere in the world.

According to the WHO there are 20 people who have failed suicide attempt for every one that is successful.

Suicide is the most common cause for people from 15 and 24, WHO said, and more people die from suicide than from murder and war.

“In fact, it is the 13th leading cause of death globally,” the statement said, adding that the number of people who die through suicide is expected to reach 1.5 per year by 2020.

Mental health experts estimate that in Ghana, five or more people took their own lives each day.

“The worst part of it in Ghana is that some of these persons may take the life of others before taking theirs,” the statement noted.

Available statistics on suicide in Ghana indicate that Greater Accra region has the highest number of deaths by suicide.

But, anybody who commits suicide or attempts to commit suicide in Ghana commits a criminal act as provided in section 57, clause 2 of the Criminal Offences Act of Ghana, according to the statement.

It said reported cases of suicide in recent times showed that the majority came from rural areas where most of the victims were farmers.

The Chief Psychiatrist, Dr Akwasi Osei was quoted as saying that 93 to 95 per cent of all suicides and attempted suicides are from mental disorders with more than 80 per cent of the lot from depression.

Mental disorders are often present at the time of suicide with estimates ranging from 27 per cent to more than 91 per cent, he added.

He said other conditions of suicide cover schizophrenia, personality disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder, with five per cent of people dying out of suicide.

“Eating disorders was also not ruled out as another high risk condition,” he said.