On the back of International Men’s Day, for the very first time, the subject of male suicide will raised in Parliament today (Thursday).
Incredibly stark and worrying statistics related to male suicide have been released, revealing that in 2014, 76% of all suicides in the UK were male.
A staggering 4,623 men took their own lives.
That’s 12 men every day.
One man every two hours.
41% couldn’t talk to anyone
A YouGov poll of 2,000 men found that 42% of 18-45 year old men said they had considered suicide.
Added to that, 41% of those men felt they couldn’t talk to anyone about their feelings.
Here on the Isle of Wight, the predominant age group of men taking their own lives is 45-59.
How the Isle of Wight compares
An audit by IW Public Health into suicides and open verdicts 2008–2011 found
- In contrast to national suicide rates, which are increasing, on the Isle of Wight numbers fell from 18.8 per 100,000 in 2008 to 9.42 per 100,000 in 2011.
- 77% of people who completed suicide were male and 23% female.
- 25% of people that had completed suicide had attempted suicide in the past
No health without mental health
The Isle of Wight are taking the issue of suicide very seriously and working with a number of partners, have been developing a strategy to help those in need.
You can read the strategy in full below.
Need help?
If things are difficult for you, it always helps to speak to someone.
CALM (The Campaign Against Living Miserably) provide contact details for several organisations set up to help.
CALM – 0800 58 58 58
Free helpline & webchat available 5pm to midnight every day
thecalmzone.net
The Samaritans – 116 123
Free from a mobile phone or landline, anytime on 116 123
www.samaritans.org
MIND – 0300 123 3393
Mon – Fri 9am – 6pm
www.mind.org.uk
Maytree – 020 7263 7070
– A sanctuary for the suicidal
Maytree
Papyrus – 08000 68 41 41
Mon – Fri 10am-10pm, Weekends 2-10pm, Bank Holidays 2-5pm
www.papyrus-uk.org
Debate in Parliament
As reported above, the subject of male suicide will raised by Philip Davies MP (Shipley, Conservative) in Westminster Hall at 1.30pm (watch live).
You can read the briefing note below, click on the full screen icon to see larger version.
IW Suicide Prevention Strategy
Click on the full-screen icon to see larger version.
Image: /jaredmayfire under CC BY 2.0
