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Teach inclusive values and end the waste caused by discrimination

Prejudice wastes potential and drives some to suicide: inclusive values will prevent that

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Li Ching was an achiever. She excelled in her studies, won international recognition as a chess player, and looked forward to starting her career. But despite her qualifications and determination, potential employers would send her away from job interviews as soon as they found out about her hearing impairment.

After having overcome so many barriers in her life, she must have despaired at the seemingly endless prejudice and discrimination she faced. In March 2008, she took her own life.

Today is World Suicide Prevention Day. It provides an opportunity for us as a society to reflect on how such tragedies can be averted. Indeed, "Suicide prevention across the globe: strengthening protective factors and instilling hope" is the theme this year.

I learned about Li when I first joined the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC). Her father had been interviewed for one of our documentaries, and I was struck by the starkness of his grief on the screen. The anguish he felt from the loss of his daughter, who had fought so hard and accomplished so much, was plain to see. "I'd rather not have brought her up to be so outstanding," he said. "What use is that now?"

Discrimination hurts. The American civil rights activist Martin Luther King once described discrimination as a "hellhound" that gnawed at its victims in every moment of their lives. At times, and over time, the pain and indignity can build to the point of hopelessness, with no end apparently in sight.

It is not uncommon for those who suffer relentlessly from discrimination to contemplate suicide as a way out from the humiliation. According to a study in the United States last year, perceived discrimination was associated with more than five times higher odds of a suicide attempt among emerging adults.

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