Facebook launches suicide prevention tool in India

Considering the number of suicide cases reported in India Facebook is launching its suicide prevention tool in the country to support people who may be struggling with self-injury or experiencing suicidal thoughts. The suicide prevention tool, launched in partnership with AASRA and Deepika Padukone’s The Live Love Laugh Foundation, is available in Hindi, English, Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi, Sinhalese, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu and Marathi.

To find the tool on Facebook type ‘Suicide’ in the search bar on top and the 'Facebook Help: Suicide' page will show in the drop-down. The page has several guides help options and also has a suicide hotline number, in the case of emergency.

Reportedly, Facebook has teams in place that constantly patrols the website for suicide cases and reviews reports with regards to the same. Self-injury reports will be prioritized and immediate help will be sent to the person in distress.

According to WHO report published in 2014, India accounted for the highest estimated number of suicides in the world in the year 2012, and a large proportion of suicide deaths were in the age bracket 15 and 29 years.