adminA SPIKE in cases of fathers committing heinous crimes like murder and rape of their children are clearly a sign of a sick society.
Most of these cases are fuelled by gender-based violence (GBV), infidelity as well as drug and substance abuse.
A number of people are living with depression without seeking professional help.
Counselling could help save lives and commission of these terrible crimes against one’s own flesh and blood.
Yesterday we carried a spine-chilling story of a Nyanga-based man, who went berserk and killed his wife and children before hanging himself.
This grisly act has sent shock waves in the Nyanga community, which is yet to come to terms with it.
While the police are yet to establish the cause of the murder and suicide, it’s clear the act was somehow premeditated.
The man chose to deal with his anger by completing wiping out his family.
It may never be known why he elected to deal with his problems by eliminating his family and taking his own life.
It’s sad that young lives which had potential were perhaps cut short by a fight between the man and his wife.
Maybe professional counselling could have helped save the lives of the innocent eight, 12 and 14-year-olds whose innocent lives met a brutal end over things they knew nothing about.
But what could have caused the man to resort to killing his family.
Could it be the man had mental health issues that were taken lightly by those around him?
Mental health has been stalking us for some time now, but somehow, we tend to dismiss it as a myth.
Some dismiss it as a subject for mere talk shows, but mental health issues are real and must be taken seriously.
Stress induced violence is dangerous and has wreaked havoc in most communities.
Most of our people don’t even know the symptoms of mental issue problems and tend to dismiss certain acts as deliberate when it will, in fact, be a cry for help.
If mental health issues are addressed, it will help reduce other problems such as gender-based violence, murder and rape.
There is too much pressure on most people, especially breadwinners, due to the depressed economic environment.
If not addressed, this may lead to a mental breakdown and tragedies of the proportion of the Nyanga murder and suicide.
As we comprehend the Nyanga family tragedy, it’s high time we treated mental health issues seriously by devising ways of tackling it before it causes more such tragic events.
People that exhibit signs of mental health should get help quickly to prevent the problem from escalating and resulting in heart wrecking cases.
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter