The associations ask for a plan against suicide, because “silence kills and talking about it saves lives”

33 associations and 7 mental health experts have united around a manifesto that calls for a “National Suicide Prevention Plan.”

This September 10, World Suicide Prevention Day, 33 associations and 7 mental health experts at the state level have come together to demand, through a manifesto, a “National Suicide Prevention Plan”, since they understand that “Silence kills and talking about suicide saves lives”.

The associations remember that suicide is the first external cause of mortality in the Spanish State, therefore, they emphasize that “it is a social and public health problem that we must address and treat in a comprehensive and urgent manner.”

They ask the political class for “a comprehensive, cohesive and coordinated approach throughout the state, which is the backbone of the regional, municipal and public and private organization strategies, for profit and non-profit, to fight and reverse this problem that causes so much suffering in society”.

This plan that they demand proposes the following specific objectives:

– Raise awareness among the general population, people at higher risk of suicide, businesses and large brands.

– Advise the media.

– Generate contingency measures for social networks and digital media.

– Promote Primary Health Care.

– Attend and care for the quality of specialized Mental Health services.

– Strengthen primary and specialized care in social services.

– Promote community action programs.

– Create protocols for integrated and intersectoral action in the autonomous communities as well as plans or strategies.

– Promote and strengthen the social entities of the third sector.

– Strengthen and promote evidence-based practices.

– Introduce the subject of suicide in undergraduate and postgraduate studies.

– Improve statistical studies.

– Creation of an Observatory of Suicidal Behavior in Spain.

Data

Hego Euskal Herria recorded 232 deaths by suicide in 2022, of which 174 were in the BAC and 58 in Navarra. Among these deaths, men are more than twice as many as women, and the majority were over 50 years of age.

However, in Araba, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa, 4 people under the age of 19 took their own lives, and 11 died from the same cause between 20 and 29 years of age.

In the whole of Spain, deaths by suicide exceeded 4,000 in 2022.

If you have thoughts, ideations or risk of suicidal behavior, call the toll-free number 024. If you are a family member or close friend of a person at risk of suicidal behavior, you can also call 024. It is a telephone number of the Ministry of Health. You can also see your GP. In case of a vital emergency, call 112 directly.

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