— minister says no place for such “punitive” laws

FOR years, stakeholders have been calling for the decriminalisation of attempted suicide in Guyana and the Ministry of Health has directed focus towards amending this legislation and instead focus on providing assistance to persons in need.

On Monday, while responding to questions posed by the Guyana Chronicle, Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony, highlighted that the ministry has identified several pieces of legislation that it is seeking to amend or develop entirely. And, among them would be the Criminal Law Offences Act Chapter 8:01 (97) which imposes jail time for persons who attempt suicide.

“If somebody attempted suicide, that person can be charged and I think that offence carries with it a penalty to be jailed and, therefore, we believe in the modern thinking — dealing with psychiatry and so forth — that you shouldn’t have these kinds of punitive measures,” Dr Anthony said on Tuesday.

The existing law labels attempted suicide a “misdemeanour” and the individual is liable to two years in prison. But Minister Anthony asserted that these punitive measures have no place in Guyana’s health care sector.

Instead, he emphasised: “What you should do is be able to offer that person help….They would need to be referred to specialised services.”

Resultantly, he said this legislation needs amending.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Guyana had 667 reported suicide attempts between 2010–2012, resulting in an average of 200 deaths per year. This placed the country at the highest level in the world. However, the Ministry of Public Health has since launched the National Mental Health Action Plan 2015-2020 with the goal of reducing the rate of suicide in Guyana.

Even so, many stakeholders have lamented the archaic law and called for it to be amended. The decriminalising of suicide has enjoyed bipartisan support. There have also been numerous calls from Guyana’s partners such as the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) and the British High Commission to amend the legislation.

In September last, former Health Minister and now Adviser to the Ministry, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, promised to push for the decriminalisation of suicide as part of efforts to tackle the mental health issues under the new dispensation.

Amending this legislation is only part of the menu of amendments or new legislative developments the ministry is focusing on, and Dr. Anthony explained that it may take some time before the amendments are ratified.

The Health Ministry offers services at its Mental Health Unit at Quamina Street, Georgetown from 08:00hrs to 16:00hrs on weekdays. There is also the recently launched toll-free 655-SAFE (655-7233) hotline through which persons can access counselling services.

If you or anyone you know is feeling depressed and possibly contemplating suicide, please call the Guyana Inter-agency Suicide Helpline which operates 24 hours and is organised by the Guyana Police Force. Telephone -223-0001, 223-0009, 223-0818 Cellphone – 600-7896, 623-4444.