'Women fear stigma attached to depression'

Speaking at the valedictory of UGC sponsored three-day international conference on ‘Women and mental health’ at Roshni Nilaya on Saturday, he said “Women who suffer from depression and other mental health issues refuse to take treatment as it could be an easy ground for divorce and they fear the stigma attached to it.”

“Women should live in peace, fraternity, equality and should meet their death with dignity,” opined Roshni Nilaya Founder Principal Dr Olinda Pereira.

The international conference was organised by School of Social Work Roshni Nilaya, Mangalore in collaboration with University Grants Commission, New Delhi, Flinders University, Australia, Breakthrough, New Delhi, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore, Rajiv Gandhi University of Heath Sciences, Bangalore, United Nations Office on Drug and Crime New Delhi and Antarang, Bangalore.

The conference saw 111 personal presentations, 13 workshops and symposia, 35 poster presentations, 7 invited speakers, 27 chairpersons and 9 panel discussions. Delegates from Australia, Norway, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, UK, USA and from different parts of the country took part in the conference.Earlier, inaugurating the conference on Thursday, Mangalore University VC Prof T C Shivashankara Murthy said that the role of women has changed drastically as a large number of women opt for higher education and the number of literate women has increased to a ratio of 66 to 100 men.