CRIME PREVENTIONIN EDUCATIONAL SET-UPS:

STUDENT SUICIDEIN INDIA

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Submitted By: Roll Nos.: 2009SW078 and 2009SW103 Subject: Seminar on Crime Prevention Faculty: Roshni Nair Date: 24 th of September, 2010

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INTRODUCTION Origin of the Word: The Etymology of the word Suicide can be traced from Latin suicidium, from suicaedere, which means to "to kill oneself"

Definitions of Suicide: The act of suicide has been variously defined by various institutions and relevant systems. Suicide in common parlance refers to the act of deliberate killing of oneself. The WHO (1968) defines suicidal act as the injury with varying degree of lethal intent, and that suicide may be defined as a suicidal act with fatal outcome; whereas, suicidal acts with non-fatal outcomes are labeled attempted suicide. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) defines suicide as the intentional ending of life. It further states that a suicide must have the following characteristics: It should bean un-natural death. Desire to die should origin within him/herself. There should be a cause to end Under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Attempted Suicide an offence punishable under Sec. 309, as a breach of Art. 21 of the Indian Constitution, that guarantees protection of life and personal liberty. Sec 309 reads thus:Whoever attempts to commit suicide and does any act towards the commission of such ofence shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with fine, or with both.

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GENERAL OVERVIEW: STATISTICS The following facts and figures have been recorded in the various researches and relevant government documents like that of National Crime Records Bureau (2008),Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of

India, which one needs to keep in mind while formulating various policies and suicide prevention strategies: * * * * * * * More than one hundred thousand lives lost per year (2007) At the rate of 7.9 to 10.3 per 100,000 Kerala, A.P. and T.N. >15 Punjab, U.P., Bihar and J&K