“Sushant’s body was found hanging from a fan”
“Andhra teen attempts suicide after mother refuses to bring snacks”
“Teenager dies by suicide over opposition to relationship”
“Delhi man commits suicide after argument with wife”
SUCH headlines, often amplified by the explicit description of suicide as an act—sometimes turning into a visual cacophony with the anchors screaming ‘drug do, mujhe drug do’—broadly represent the unfortunate state of suicide coverage by the Indian media.
Despite several guidelines issued by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Press Council of India (PCI) and other bodies, nothing much has changed over the years. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data shows that in 2021, the number of deaths by suicide reached an all-time high, with a 7.2 per cent increase from 2020. In such a scenario, when media should play a responsible role and help in preventing suicides, the drama created around suicides by various media platforms ends up doing the opposite.
Several studies show that media’s portrayal of suicides affects those who are extremely vulnerable. A study published in 2020 points out that the risk of suicide increases by 13 per cent due to the media coverage of a celebrity’s suicide. However, the vivid description of the act enhances the chance of suicide by 30 per cent.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 21, 2023 من Outlook.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
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هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 21, 2023 من Outlook.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
A TRANSFORMATIVE JOURNEY
The LGBTQIA+ community has battled long and hard against deep-set social prejudices and unjust laws and notched up significant victories, but more remains to be done to achieve a just and inclusive world
LANGUAGE & PREJUDICE
In its state of unending flux, language evolves just a semicolon behind changing societal constructs and, therefore, you may now call sex, sex, and queer, queer without causing any social seizures!
CONSENT IS THE CORNERSTONE OF HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS
Educators can empower the youth by providing them various tools and resources so that they can make informed and empowered choices and cultivate meaningful emotive connections based on reciprocity, love and understanding
WON, BATTLES WARS YET TO BE FOUGHT
Despite major setbacks in courtrooms, the queer movement will soldier and ultimately win because it is quintessentially a battle for love and to live with dignity
EQUITY NEEDED TO HARNESS YOUTH DIVIDEND
India's youth population presents a significant opportunity for an economic surge, but realising this potential requires an equity-oriented approach that addresses the country's vast socio-economic disparities
"WE HAVE REACHED A POINT WHERE WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO FUTURE GENERATIONS"
Laxmi Narayan Tripathi is a trailblazing transgender activist who has been instrumental in securing legal rights and changing perceptions of the transgender community.
AWARENESS KEY TO RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT
Programmes that raise awareness and equip the young with guidance and agency to challenge skewed social stereotypes can shake deep-set prejudices, trigger affirmative action, and overturn the status quo
PROTECT YOUTH FROM CYBERSEX CRIMES
Battling loneliness and lacking awareness, India’s youth are sharing much more than what is good for them online and becoming the unwitting victims of crimes ranging from sex tortion to doxing and more. The prevailing laws, unfortunately, are inadequate
"TBBT HAS PUT YOUTH AT THE CENTRE OF THE DISCOURSE 99
Mohammed Asif is Executive Director and Dr Komal Goswami is Chief of Party at Plan International (India Chapter). While Asif leads the organisation’s initiatives in welfare and development for children and equality for girls and women in India, Goswami leads the purposedriven initiatives of Reckitt executed through PLAN India. In an interview with Naina Gautam, they talk about The Birds and Bees Talk (TBBT) initiative, the opportunities, the achievements and the challenges so far. Excerpts:
A RIGHT IN THE MAKING
Though the Supreme Court disappointed the LGBTQIA+ community on the issue of civil union, it hopes that the recent announcements by the Indian National Congress, CPI(M) and BJP will pave the way for a legislative solution to its rights