#TGLIFE: The recent video on mental health issues in children and adolescents done in two languages (Konkani and Hindi) is indeed, impressive. How did the idea come about?
Dr Sushma P Kirtani: The Commission has always focused on the mental health issues of children and adolescents. We felt that it is important to address this critical issue. Every year, we celebrate World Mental Health Day on October 10 by conducting workshops and inviting teachers, parents, PTA members, public, general practitioners, psychiatrists and paediatricians. During one of our all Goa poster competitions on suicide prevention held in collaboration with Bal Bhavan, Panaji, we showed a video which was made by Mayo Clinic, USA to children on suicide prevention. It was then felt that we need to have our own video for our children in local languages. Apart from social media platforms we have also circulated the video through government channels.
Could you tell us what went into making this video?
We contacted Abhivyaktee Foundation and the children were selected by their theatre art teacher. The script was initially written by our member and it was translated by the said teacher in two languages - Konkani and Hindi. The children were regularly trained with dialogues and acting skills before the final video was shot.
What was the feedback you received after the video was viewed?
The response by the parents, doctors and stakeholders who were invited for the release was good. The video has also been sent to the Director of Education to inform all the schools in his jurisdiction and to students, parents and teachers during PTA meetings. The link is available on YouTube. The video links have also been sent to all the Commissions across India and also to UNICEF India.
What is the suicide rate in Goa at the moment?
The incidences of suicide in Goa is 15.8 per cent per lakh population and the national rate is 11.7 per cent per lakh population.
Your take on children in the
risk zones
Children and adolescents need constant supervision from parents. They need moral support and guidance. Many of them are under stress due to various types of pressures. It could be parental, school or peer pressure. Due to all this they may take a drastic step. Also drug addiction, alcoholism, single parents, parental conflict, financial crises, loss of one parent, poor socio-economic status or poor education may contribute to the same.
What could be done to avoid incidents of suicides among children?
Apart from parents, teachers and society, the media also needs to be sensitized so that all such cases are not projected openly to general public. This has a bad influence on the tender minds.
Who could be held responsible for such incidents?
Many a time, it is a case of contagion suicide or copycat suicide wherein the other children get motivated to take this task reading about it in newspapers or after getting information on social media.
What has the Commission done recently to curb suicides on
administrative level?
We had a symposium on suicide prevention in September 2017. It was attended by stakeholders like parents, doctors, teachers and the government authorities with the Collector of North Goa, Nila Mohanan as its chief guest. After the symposium we submitted to the government (of Goa) the guidelines for suicide prevention. The Commission has also prepared a draft of the mental health policy for children and adolescents after holding series of meetings with the stakeholders. The draft was in public domain till February 19, 2018 for comments from general public and now is in final stages before submitting to the concerned authorities.
About the Commission
Since its formation in the year 2008, The Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (GSCPCR) has taken a number of initiatives in prevention and eradication of abuses of various forms of child rights. It looks into various topics like setting ad contexts requiring mental health care for children, identification and management of mental health problems in children, mental health needs in children in institutions, suicidal behaviour in children, comprehensive guidelines for reporting suicide, mental health issues in children with substance abuse, physically challenged children, children with psychological disabilities and children who are victims of abuse or are at risk. It ensures that all laws, policies, programmes, and administrative mechanisms are in consonance with a child rights perspective as enshrined in the Constitution of India and also the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC-1989) signed by India on December 11, 1992.
