General News of Wednesday, 24 December 2014
Source: Graphic Online
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A lecturer at the Psychology Department of the University of Ghana, Dr Joseph Osafo, has called for a repeal of the criminal code that punishes people who attempt suicide.
He said such people needed public support and counselling from the experts, noting that such an effort would help reduce suicide attempts, especially among the youth.
According to Dr Osafo, 40 per cent of adolescents committed suicide when they become distressed in life and feel rejected by society.
He called on parents to attach urgency to the responsibilities of their children and provide them the needed assistance.
Speaking at a durbar organised by the Youth Action Movement (YAM) of Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG) for juveniles on remand at the Osu Remand Home in Accra, he also appealed to the government to allocate resources and funds to research institutions to enable them to research into the causes and effects of suicide as well as counselling to help reduce the rate of suicidal attempts, especially among adolescents.
The project was initiated by the youth wing of the PPAG to provide access to information and service for young people with special needs in restricted environment. It is being funded by the International Planned Parenthood Federation at a cost of $5,000 to assist the youth in restricted areas.
Addressing issues on challenges faced by the youth, the Project Officer of PPAG at Cape Coast, Mr Michael Tagoe, called on parents to discipline their children to always keep them on track.
He said children in restricted areas, such as remand homes, were not social misfits but were being reformed to be integrated into the society.
Mr Tagoe noted that, “these unfortunate children are being stigmatised by society and they tend to lose their self-esteem”, a development, he said, was a factor that caused suicide attempts.
“These children need counsellors and motivational speakers to psyche up their mind that there is a future for them”, he added.
Educating the children on sexual reproductive health (SRH), Mr Tagoe advised the youth to abstain from premarital sex in order to avoid contracting sexually transmitted diseases (STD’s) and unwanted pregnancies.
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