Rising teen suicides demands urgent, proactive response
The child suicide rate is low but increasing. It should be zero. The tragedy of loss is real. Schoolchildren coped with the COVID lockdown. Catch-up pressure combined with fractured families adds to the stress. Should the education system embrace holistic well-being to prevent teen suicide? Oasis Hu
Gender differences
Out of the 306 suicide-related cases in 2023, 217 were female, while 89 were male. Of these, 269 were attempted suicides, with a gender split of 202 females and 67 males. Of the 37 fatalities, 22 were males and 15 females.
Yip observes that women are more likely to survive suicide attempts as they opt to use less lethal means, while men exhibit a greater determination to follow through once they decide to end their lives.
May Lam Mei-ling, psychiatrist and founder and president of the Hong Kong Mental Wellness Association, says that while some attempted suicide cases are prevented, there is a continuing risk of repeated suicide attempts within this group. Lam advocates priority support for them.
Wai, suicide-crisis center-in-charge at the Samaritan Befrienders Hong Kong, says that in 2023, cases contacting them for suicide-related help rose sharply over 2022 among younger schoolchildren - up 36.3 percent for 13-year-olds, 45.5 percent for 12-year-olds and 87.5 percent for 11-year-olds. Of the 118 cases in 2023 at her center, the youngest was only six years old, exclaims Wai.
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