Facebook is trying to prevent suicides in India. Here’s how !
Developed in collaboration with mental health organizations and with input from people who have personal experience with self-injury and suicidal tendencies, Facebook has rolled it out in India in collaboration with local partners (AASRA and The Live Love Laugh Foundation) in English and Hindi.
In case someone posts something on Facebook that makes you concerned about their well-being, you can reach out to them directly — and you also can also report the post to Facebook directly. The company now has teams working around the world, 24/7, who review reports that come in. They prioritize the most serious reports like self-injury and send help and resources to those in distress.
The company is also introducing a Help A Friend in Need guide in India. This guide was originally created in partnership with The Jed Foundation and The Clinton Foundation, and in India, Facebook has worked with AASRA, a charity that provides anonymous and confidential professional counselling to people in India, and The Live Love Laugh Foundation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to addressing the issue of mental health in India.
This guide helps people identify when someone is distressed and what steps to take to get help. The guide also offers suggestions on how to approach their friend, what to say, how to react and what to avoid. It gives people the skills to reach out without fear of making the situation worse. The guide will be available in English, Hindi, Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi, Sinhalese, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu and Marathi.