Facebook has officially rolled out its suicide prevention tools globally, launching it in India in collaboration with AASRA and Deepika Padukone’s The Live Love Laugh Foundation. The feature first came out in the US and will now be available across the world in every language the site is available in.
For India, this means the tools will be accessible in Bengali, Marathi, Malayalam, Punjabi, Urdu, Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, and Tamil. Facebook has also published a Help A Friend in Need guide on how to identify and deal with friends who might be at risk of self-harm or suicide.
Facebook’s suicide prevention measures have been developed in association with various mental health organizations and people who have actually gone through feelings of self-injury and suicide. As such, the site has tried to make its tools as simple and sensitive as possible, taking into consideration the fact that any case is time-sensitive and must be handled with the utmost care.
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If you suspect your friend is on the brink of suicide based on their Facebook posts, you can now flag their posts and alert the social media site about the matter. The brand promises to take on and review the most serious cases on a higher priority. It apparently has teams across the world to deal with such scenarios on a 24 hour basis.
If Facebook determines that your friend is indeed at risk, the company sends across a message asking if they’re doing alright. The missive contains various options such as getting in touch with someone they trust, contacting a helpline, and accessing tips and support.