Can gender equality reduce suicides?

Offering more reasons for men to share power with women, psychiatrists have said that gender equality can prevent many men from taking their own lives. Of the 15 people, on an average, who committed suicide every hour in 2014, 10 were men, latest data with the National Crime Records Bureau shows. "The number of suicides in the country during the decade (2004-2014) has recorded an increase of 15.8 per cent (131,666 in 2014 from 113,697 in 2004)," stated the NCRB report, ‘Accidental Deaths and Suicide in India 2014.’

While suicides may be the result of a complex interplay of personal and socio-economic factors that vary across regions, psychiatrists warn that the type of masculinity that has helped build and sustain the structure of patriarchy may literally take a toll on the lives of men, and not just women. "Yes, gender equality can decrease the suicide rate in men," psychiatrist Gorav Gupta, director of New Delhi-based Tulasi Healthcare, told IANS.

"If they are not the only partner responsible for financial and social decisions, in times of problems the decisions can be collective, and therefore failure will not be seen as personal failing," Gupta explained. Dr (Brig) S Sudarsanan, senior consultant psychiatrist at the BLK Super Speciality Hospital in Delhi, however, believes equitable gender relations alone may not bring down the number of suicides among men as the factors that provoke people to take the extreme step may vary from region to region.

A study by University of Cambridge found that suicide rates in India tend to be higher in States with greater economic disparity. The shame and stress of no longer being able to provide for their families resulted in hundreds of male farmers taking their own lives. Sudarshanan suggested that men are also less competent than women in managing stress. "Women are more resilient and can manage stressors more competently," he said.

By Gokul Bhagabati