Close on the heels of reports of spurt in online child pornography material during the lockdown, Kerala is witnessing another disturbing trend of increasing number of children ending their life.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that since March 25, as many as 66 children died by suicide in Kerala, which is a comparatively higher number. Domestic issues, compulsion by parents, discord among parents and alcoholism of father were found to be the common reasons.
The online counselling facilities of the government was also being flooded with calls seeking psychological support to children. Nearly 9,500 children were given counselling so far this year.
Dr. R Jayaprakash, chief child psychologist at the SAT hospital attached to the Government medical college in Thiruvananthapuram, told DH that owing to the lockdown, many parents were not able to take children for counselling. He said that closure of schools was one key reason that causes stress and anxiety among children, especially in the teenage group, as children were not able to talk freely with their friends.
Moreover, many parents were also stressed up owing to the uncertainties over the future due to the Covid-19 situation. Hence they were also not able to spend quality time with children. Hence children may feel isolated.
Meanwhile, the Kerala government is launching a project 'Chiri' (smile) aimed at addressing this issue. Schoolchildren who are part of the student police cadet scheme would interact with children. A committee headed by Director General of Fire and Rescue Services R Sreelekha was also constituted to study into the matter.
The state police had recently found a spurt in online child pornography during lockdown and held 47 persons in a state wide operation.
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