Indian Society and Social Issues: November 2022 UPSC Current Affairs | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly PDF Download

National Suicide Prevention Strategy

Context

• Recently the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare announced a National Suicide Prevention Strategy.

More about the policy

• About:
  • The newly launched National Suicide Prevention Strategy is the first of its kind in the country.
  • The suicide prevention policy comes with time-bound action plans and multi-sectoral collaborations to achieve reduction in suicide mortality by 10% 2030.
• The strategy broadly seeks to: 
  • Establish effective surveillance mechanisms for suicide within the next three years, 
  • Establish psychiatric outpatient departments that will provide suicide prevention services through the District Mental Health Programme in all districts within the next five years, and 
  • To integrate a mental well-being curriculum in all educational institutions within the next eight years. 
• The policy envisages: 
  • Developing guidelines for responsible media reporting of suicides, and 
  • Restricting access to means of suicide.
• Community & societal support:
  • The stress is on developing community resilience and societal support for suicide prevention. 
• In line with global strategy:
  • The UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.4 aims to reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases by one-third, through prevention and treatment, and promote mental health and well-being. 
  • One of the indicators for this is the suicide rate.
  • While the strategy is in line with the WHO’s South East-Asia Region Strategy for suicide prevention, it says it will remain true to India’s cultural and social milieu.

More about Suicide

• What is suicide?
  • Suicide is when people harm themselves with the goal of ending their life, and they die as a result.
  • A suicide attempt is when people harm themselves with the goal of ending their life, but they do not die.
• Data on suicide deaths in India:
  • In India, more than one lakh lives are lost every year to suicide, and it is the top killer in the 15-29 years category. 
  • In the past three years, the suicide rate has increased from 10.2 to 11.3 per 1,00,000 population, the document records. 
  • The most common reasons for suicide include family problems and illnesses, which account for 34% and 18% of all suicide-related deaths.
• Treatments and Therapies:
  • Brief Interventions
• Safety Planning: 
  • Personalized safety planning has been shown to help reduce suicidal thoughts and actions. 
• Follow-up phone calls: 
  • Research has shown that when at-risk patients receive further screening, a Safety Plan intervention, and a series of supportive phone calls, their risk of suicide goes down.
• Psychotherapies:
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT):
  • It can help people learn new ways of dealing with stressful experiences. 
  • CBT helps individuals recognize their thought patterns and consider alternative actions when thoughts of suicide arise.
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT):
  • It has been shown to reduce suicidal behavior in adolescents. 

Government of India Initiatives 

• National Mental Health Programme (NMHP), 1982:
  • To ensure the availability and accessibility of minimum mental healthcare for all in the foreseeable future, particularly to the most vulnerable and underprivileged sections of the population.
• Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 - Decriminalising suicide attempts:
  • It was passed in 2017, came into effect in May 2018 and replaced the Mental Health Act of 1987. 
  • To the joy of most Indian medical practitioners and advocates of mental health, the act decriminalised suicide attempts in India. 
  • It also included WHO guidelines in the categorisation of mental illnesses. 
  • The most significant provision in the act was “advanced directives”, which allowed individuals with mental illnesses to decide the course of their treatment and also appoint someone to be their representative. 
  • It also restricted the use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), and banned its use on minors, finally introducing measures to tackle stigma in Indian society.
• Manodarpan Initiative:
  • It is an initiative under Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.
  • It aims to provide psyho-social support to students for their mental health and well-being.
• Kiran Helpline:
  • The helpline is a giant step towards suicide prevention, and can help with support and crisis management.
  • The helpline aims to provide early screening, first-aid, psychological support, distress management, mental well-being, and psychological crisis management and will be managed by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD).

Issues & way ahead

• Focus not up to the mark:
  • The recent National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report stated that 1.64 lakh people died by suicide in 2021. 
  • This is 10 per cent higher than the COVID deaths in India 2020, and 6.8 times the maternal death (23800) in 2020. 
  • Yet, we have had so much more focus and efforts on COVID protocols and maternal health as compared to suicide prevention.
• Need for collaborative efforts:
  • Given that suicide is a complex issue, tackling it will necessarily require inter-sectoral collaboration. 
  • The 2021 NCRB data shows that family issues (33.2 per cent), unemployment/indebtedness/career problems (7.7 percent), health concerns (18.6 percent) are some of the major causes. 
  • To work on prevention, we need the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, the MoHFW, among others, to work collaboratively. 
• Requirement of an effective implementation:
  • The strategy should now be passed on to the States for them to develop locally relevant action plans; and then cascade to the district, primary health and community levels.
  • Further efforts are now required to prevent suicides as a public health priority. 
  • Suicides impact all sections of the society and thus require concerted and collaborative efforts from individuals and the community at large.

Nai ChetnaPahal Badlav Ki

Context
Recently, the Ministry of Urban Development launches the “Nai Chetna-Pahal Badlav Ki”- A Community-led National Campaign Against Gender-Based Discrimination.

• Kerala also launched the campaign under the umbrella of the Kudumbashree Mission.

What is the Nai Chetna-Pahal Badlav Ki Campaign?

• About:
  • It is a four-week campaign, aiming at equipping women to recognise and prevent violence and making them aware of their rights.
  • Activities will be centred on the theme of ‘Gender equality and gender-based violence.’
• Aim:
  • This will be an annual campaign focussing on specific gender issues each year. The focus area of the campaign this year is gender-based violence.
• Implementing Agency:
  • This campaign will be implemented by all states in collaboration with Civil Society Organisations (CSO) partners, and actively executed by all levels including the states, districts and blocks, engaging the community institutions along with the extended community.
• Significance:
  • The campaign will bring together all line departments and stakeholders to create a concerted effort in acknowledging, identifying and addressing the issues of violence.

What is the Kudumbashree Mission?

• It is the poverty eradication and women empowerment programme implemented by the State Poverty Eradication Mission (SPEM) of the Government of Kerala.
• The name Kudumbashree in Malayalam language means ‘Prosperity of the Family’. The name represents ‘Kudumbashree Mission’ or SPEM as well as the Kudumbashree Community Network.

What is the National Rural Livelihoods Mission?

• About:
  • It is known as “Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM)”.
  • It is a centrally sponsored programme, launched by the Ministry of Rural Development in June 2011.
  • The government accepted the recommendation of the Prof. Radhakrishna Committee and restructured “The Swarnjayanti Gram SwarozgarYojana (SGSY)” into “National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM)” in FY 2010-11.
• Aim:
  • To reduce poverty by enabling the poor households to access gainful self-employment and skilled wage employment opportunities, resulting in appreciable improvement in their livelihoods on a sustainable basis, through building strong grassroots institutions for the poor.

Sub-Schemes:

• MKSP:
  • In order to promote agro-ecological practices that increase women farmers’ income and reduce their input costs and risks, the Mission has been implementing the Mahila Kisan Shashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP).
• SVEP and AGEY:
  • As part of its non-farm livelihoods strategy, DAY-NRLM is implementing Start-Up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP) and Aajeevika Grameen Express Yojana (AGEY).
  • SVEP aims to support entrepreneurs in rural areas to set up local enterprises.
  • AGEY, launched in August 2017, to provide safe, affordable and community monitored rural transport services to connect remote rural villages.
• DDUGKY:
  • Deendayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDUGKY) aims at building placement-linked skills of the rural youth and placing them in relatively higher-wage employment sectors of the economy.
• RSETIs:
  • The Mission, in partnership with 31 Banks and State Governments, is supporting Rural Self Employment Institutes (RSETIs) for skilling rural youth to take up gainful self-employment.

What are the Major Causes of Gender Based Violence?

• Social/Political/Cultural factors:
  • Discriminatory social, cultural or religious laws, norms and practices that marginalize women and girls and fail to respect their rights.
  • Gender stereotypes are often used to justify violence against women. Cultural norms often dictate that men are aggressive, controlling, and dominant, while women are docile, subservient, and rely on men as providers. These norms can foster a culture of outright abuse.
  • Collapse of family, social and communal structures and disrupted roles within the family often expose women and girls to risk and limit coping mechanisms and avenues for protection and redress.
• Judicial Barriers:
  • Lack of access to justice institutions and mechanisms, resulting in a culture of impunity for violence and abuse.
  • Lack of adequate and affordable legal advice and representation.
  • Lack of adequate victim/survivor and witness protection mechanisms.
  • lInadequate legal framework, including national, traditional, customary and religious law, that discriminates against women and girls.
• Individual Barriers:
  • Threat or fear of stigma, isolation and social exclusion and exposure to further violence at the hands of the perpetrator, the community or the authorities, including arrest, detention, ill-treatment and punishment.
  • Lack of information about human rights and on how and where to seek remedies.

What are the Impacts of Violence Against Women?

• It seriously affects all aspects of women’s health- physical, sexual and reproductive, mental and behavioural health, thus preventing them from realizing their full potential.
• Violence and threat of violence affects women’s ability to participate actively, and as equals, in many forms of social and political relationships
• Workplace harassment and domestic violence has an impact on women’s participation in the workforce and their economic empowerment.
• Sexual harassment limits the educational opportunities and achievements of girls.

What can be done to Eliminate Gender Based Violence?

• Gender Based Violence (GBV) can be eliminated through collective efforts of society, government and individuals.
• Training healthcare providers to recognize and respond to gender-based violence is one of the most important ways of identifying and assisting victims.
• The media is a key conduit for making GBV visible, advertising solutions, informing policy-makers and educating the public about legal rights and how to recognize and address GBV.
• School systems are instrumental to stopping GBV before it starts. Regular curricula, sexuality education, school counseling programs and school health services can all convey the message that violence is wrong and can be prevented.
• A number of studies have shown that involving entire communities in recognizing, addressing and working to prevent GBV is one of the surest ways of eliminating it.

Same-sex Marriage under the Special Marriage Act, 1954

Context

The Supreme Court recently issued a notice to the Centre on a plea to grant legal recognition to same-sex marriages and alliances between members of LGBTIQ+ community under the Special Marriage Act.

• The petition raised the absence of a legal framework which allowed members of the LGBTQ+ community to marry any person of their choice.

What is Same-Sex Marriage?

• It is the practice of marriage between two men or between two women.
• Same-sex marriage has been regulated through law, religion, and custom in most countries of the world.
• As of 2022, marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in more than 30 countries.
• The most recent country legalising it is Mexico. 

Arguments in favour of legalising Same-Sex Marriage

• The Special Marriage Act of 1954: 
  • It provides a civil form of marriage for couples who cannot marry under their personal law.
• Fundamental Right: 
  • Right to marry a person of one's choice is a fundamental right guaranteed under the Constitution of India to each person and has been recognised explicitly by the court.
  • Members of the LGBTQ+ community have the same human, fundamental and constitutional rights as other citizens.
• Right to equality: 
  • The petitioners have argued that barring them from marriage violates their right to equality.
• Global practice:
  • According to global think tank Council of Foreign Relations, same sex marriages are legal in at least 30 countries, including the United States, Australia, Canada and France.

Arguments against legalising Same-Sex Marriage

• Against Biological relation:
  • Marriage in India can be recognised only if it is between a biological man and a biological woman capable of producing children.
• Judicial interference:
  • The government has said that any interference by a court in the marital statute based on personal laws will create havoc in society and will run against the intent of Parliament in framing the laws.
• Fundamental rights are not absolute:
  • Fundamental right cannot be an untrammeled right and cannot override other constitutional principles.
• Unnecessary hype:
  • The matter is neither of national importance nor has it affected the majority of the population.
• Absence of civil rights issues: 
  • The 2018 judgment of the Supreme Court decriminalised homosexuality but did not get into civil rights issues. 
  • As a consequence, same-sex relationships are legal but civil rights such as marriage, inheritance or adoption, are not guaranteed to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex community.
• Lack of legal framework:
  • The legal framework governing the institution of marriage in this country does not presently allow members of the LGBTQ+ community to marry the person of their choice.
  • Couple cannot protect the family, and matters like adoption, opening a joint bank account or admission of children remain uncertain on account of failure of the law to recognise same sex unions.
• Section 4 of the Special Marriage Act:
  • It although permits any two persons to solemnize a marriage, the subsequent conditions in sub Section (c) therein restrict its application only to males and females. 
• Counter to global challenges:
  • Legalizing same-sex marriage in India would run counter to a number of global challenges. 
    • Recently, Singapore scrapped criminal penalties for gay sex, but stopped short of allowing marriage. 

Way Forward

• NALSA v. Union of India:
  • Here, Supreme Court categorically held that Indian Constitution protects non-binary individuals and that the protections envisaged under Articles 14, 15, 16, 19 and 21 cannot be restricted to the biological sex of male or female.
• The issue is a sequel to Navtej Singh Johar (decriminalising Section 377 of IPC) (2018) and K S Puttaswamy (right to privacy) (2017) judgements.
  • Same sex marriage is a continuation of this constitutional journey. 
  • In both the cases the Supreme Court has held that LGBTQ+ persons enjoy the right to equality, dignity and privacy guaranteed by the Constitution on the same footing as all other citizens. 
  • So thereby, the right to marry a person of one's choice should extend to LGBTQ+ citizens, as well. 

AntiSuperstition Laws in India 

Context

• In the aftermath of the alleged human sacrifice of two women in Kerala, the state has stressed the need for a new legislation to curb such superstitious practices and urged strict implementation of the existing laws in this regard.

Introduction 

• It is an irrational belief related to “ignorance or fear and characterized by obsessive reverence for omens, charms, etc” or “reverence for the supernatural”.
• The term ‘Superstition’ has been taken from the Latin word ‘Superstitio’, which indicates extreme fear of the god.
• Superstitions are not country, religion, culture, community, region, caste, or class-specific, it is widespread and found in every corner of the world.

Arguments in favour/ Need of the law

• The IPC is not equipped to deal with crimes on account of black magic and other superstitious practices.
• Certain practices like throwing children on thorns, parading women naked, etc harm others and can’t be allowed in the name of religion.

Counter arguments/ we do not need a separate law 

• Enacting special laws for each set of crimes is no solution and makes the problem worse.
• An anti-superstition law may seem necessary, but it cannot take cognisance of all realities.
• The domain of such a law is to curb superstition, associated primarily with religious and occult practices. 
• Almost everything associated with any religion can be considered superstitious for the simple fact that there is no scientific rationale behind the same.
• No scientific data: Going to a temple, a mosque, or a church can be termed superstitious because there is no scientific data to support the fact that such a practice yields any good. 
• Such practices can’t be curbed because they don’t harm anyone.
• The fundamental tenets of a liberal democracy give us the freedoms of conscience and to believe in things even when science and rationality don’t support them. 
• The substantive legal framework of our country is sufficiently adequate to address such crimes.
• For instance, throwing a child on thorns is an offence under Sections 307 and 323 of the IPC. Similarly, parading a woman naked can also be addressed specifically by Section 354B of the IPC. 
• These superstitions can be addressed by amendments in the Criminal Procedure Code and Indian Evidence Act.

Major Challenges  

• Violation of fundamental rights: Witch-hunting and broader superstition related crimes violate basic fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 14, 15, and 21 of the Indian Constitution. 
• Violation of various conventions: Such acts also violate several provisions of various International legislations to which India is a signatory, such as the ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948’, ‘International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966’, and ‘Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, 1979’.
• Bad implementation: Law and order is a State subject, so States are free to enact specific criminal laws. In the same way, States are also free to make amendments to Union laws.
• Lack of effective governance: If the executive is serious about curbing such practices, active implementation and enforcement of existing laws need to be made more effective.
• Certainty of punishment: Studies in criminology have established that certainty of punishment curbs the rate of crime and not the type or the quantum of punishment.
• Bad implementation: We already have a reputation of having good laws but bad implementation. In legal parlance, it is known as ‘over-criminalisation’ — more laws but less ‘rule of law’.
• Religions are aware that faith is vulnerable to improper use: stories of fake sadhus and deceitful sanyasis have long been around.  

Related Laws

• Eight states in India have witch-hunting legislations so far. These include Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Rajasthan, Assam, Maharashtra and Karnataka.
• The state of Bihar emerged the pioneer in enacting a law to deal with superstitious practices in 1999. 
• The Prevention of Witch Practices Act was amongst the first in India to address witchcraft and inhumane rituals.
• The state of Maharashtra followed in 2013 to enact the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and Other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, which banned the practice of human sacrifice in the state. 
• Assam Witch Hunting (Prohibition, Prevention and Protection) Bill, 2015: This Act would be applied along with Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. This Bill was turned into Act almost after 3 years that the Assembly had passed it. 
• The state of Karnataka too affected a controversial anti-superstition law in 2017 known as the Karnataka Prevention and Eradication of Inhuman Evil Practices and Black Magic Act.
• It comprehensively counters “inhumane” practices linked to religious rituals including performing any inhumane act, evil practices and black magic in search of treasure, bounty, tantric acts including physical and sexual assault, creating impression of ‘possession’ and exorcism or assaulting people under the garb of exorcism, making claims of healing power, coercing people to perform fire-walking, and so on.
• Kerala Prevention of Eradication of Inhuman Evil Practices, Sorcery and Black Magic Bill’ in 2019 which called for imprisonment of up to seven years for convicts and up to Rs 50,000 fine along with the punishments for offenses under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
• But it failed as it was not introduced, discussed, or passed in the state legislative assembly.

Way Forward/ Suggestions 

• Need of sensitisation: Every superstition cannot be removed by the force of law. For that, a mental sensitisation is necessary.
• The anti-superstition law also makes it possible to curtail activities of so-called godmen before they become too powerful.
• Accessible criminal justice: The enforcement machinery needs a major overhaul to make criminal justice more accessible.
• Article 51A (h) of the Indian Constitution makes it a fundamental duty for Indian citizens to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform.
• Provisions under the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act of 1954 also aim to tackle the debilitating impact of various superstitious activities prevalent in India. 

Age of Consent for Adolescents

Context: Recently the Dharwad Bench of the Karnataka High Court, while dismissing a case filed under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, said the Law Commission of India would have to rethink the age criteria, to take into consideration the ground realities.

• The aspect of consent by a girl of 16 years, but who is below 18 years, would have to be considered, it said, if it is indeed an offence under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and/or the POCSO Act.

About POCSO Act 2012

• This comprehensive law provides for protection of children from sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography, while safeguarding the interests of children at every stage of the judicial process through child-friendly mechanisms for reporting, recording of evidence, investigation and speedy trial through special courts.

Salient Provisions of the Act:

• “Children” according to the Act are individuals aged below 18 years. The Act is gender-neutral.
• Different forms of sexual abuse including but not limited to sexual harassment, pornography, penetrative & non-penetrative assault are defined in the Act.
• Sexual assault is deemed to be “aggravated” under certain circumstances such as when the child is mentally ill. Also, when the abuse is committed by the person in a position of trust such as a doctor, teacher, policeman, family member.
• The Act assigns a policeman in the role of child protector during the investigation process. The investigation and trial are to be done in a way to minimise further trauma on the child.
• Any case under POCSO is mandated to be disposed of within one year from the date of reporting of the offence.
• The Act provides for the establishment of Special Courts for the trial of such offences and matters related to it.
• The power to make rules lies with the central government. To monitor the implementation of the Act, the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and State Commissions for the Protection of Child Rights (SCPCRs) have been made the designated authority. Both being statutory bodies.
• Section 42 A of the Act gives POCSO Act overriding powers over other acts.
• The Act calls for mandatory reporting of sexual offences. A false complaint with intent to defame a person is punishable under the Act.

Drawbacks of the POCSO Act:

• Under the POCSO Act, 2012, and under several provisions of the IPC, whoever commits a penetrative sexual assault on a child — anyone below 18 years of age — can be “imprisoned for a term which is not less than seven years but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.”
• Even if the girl is 16 years old, she is considered a “child” under the POCSO Act and hence her consent does not matter, and any sexual intercourse is treated as rape, thus opening it up to stringent punishment.
• There have been several instances in the past few years when the courts have quashed criminal proceedings of rape and kidnapping, after being convinced that the law was being misused to suit one or the other party.
• The act also does not recognise consensual sex between pre-adult teenagers, often putting the boy in this case as an accused of rape charges.

Misuse of the act:

• In its order, and several other courts have passed similar judgments too, the Karnataka High Court said the effect of such criminal prosecution of a minor girl or boy is causing severe distress to all concerned, including the families. Sometimes, disgruntled parents file a case to foil a relationship between two adolescents.
• In 2019, a study, Why Girls Run Away to Marry – Adolescent Realities and Socio-Legal Responses in India, published by Partners for Law in Development, made a case for the age of consent to be lower than the age of marriage to decriminalise sex among older adolescents to protect them from the misuse of law, sometimes by parents who want to control who their daughters or sons want to marry.
• The study noted that in many cases, a couple elopes fearing opposition from parents resulting in a situation where families file a case with the police, who then book the boy for rape under the POCSO Act and abduction with the intent to marry under IPC or the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.

Case study: Vijaylakshmi vs State Rep case 2021

• The Madras High Court said the definition of ‘child’ under Section 2(d) of the POCSO Act can be redefined as 16 instead of 18.
• It said that any consensual sex after the age of 16 or bodily contact or allied acts can be excluded from the rigorous provisions of the POCSO Act.
• The court suggested that the age difference in consensual relationships should not be more than five years to ensure that a girl of an impressionable age is not taken advantage of by “a person who is much older.

Way forward

• With the courts and rights activists seeking amendment to the age of consent criteria, the ball lies in the government’s court to look into the issue.
• In the meantime, adolescents have to be made aware of the stringent provisions of the Act and also the IPC.
• The Karnataka High Court Bench directed the Principal Secretary of the Education Department to constitute a committee to formulate suitable education material for adolescents on the law on sexual offences and its consequences.
• Adolescents have to be made aware of the stringent provisions of the Act and also the IPC.
• There is a compelling need for law reform to revise the age of consent and prevent the criminalisation of older adolescents engaging in factually consensual and non-exploitative acts.
• Even as activists are calling for a tweak to the POCSO Act, and raising awareness about its terms, a parliamentary committee is looking into the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021 which seeks to increase the minimum age of marriage for women to 21 years.
• Rights activists feel instead of helping the community, raising the age may force vulnerable women to remain under the yoke of family and social pressures.
• Government should examine the provisions of the POCSO Act which are being misused and amend them. The principles of Right to life and survival and the best interests of all children concern, should be protected.