Investigating the suicide statistics of children and adolescents in Kurdistan Province
The following report examines the suicides of children and adolescents in Kurdistan Province since April 2017. From April 1, 1401 to July 2017, at least 12 children and adolescents have committed suicide in various cities in Kurdistan Province. Of these, 11 children and adolescents lost their lives, and 1 was saved from death by medical staff after being taken to the hospital.
According to HRANA News Agency, the news agency of the Human Rights Activists Association in Iran, the upcoming report examines the situation of child and adolescent suicide in Kurdistan Province.
A statistical look at child suicides from April 1400 to July 1401
From April 1, 1402 to July 25, 2021, at least 12 children and adolescents have committed suicide in different cities of Kurdistan Province. Of these, 11 children and adolescents have lost their lives and 1 was saved from death by medical personnel after being sent to the hospital. 6 of these suicides have been reported by non-governmental media and 2 by government news agencies. The identities of 6 of these adolescents have also been verified and confirmed by HRANA.
Methods and reasons for child suicide
Of the suicides, 4 were girls and 8 were boys. The most common method of suicide was hanging with 8 cases, followed by taking pills and medication with 2 cases, and another 2 were committed by an unknown method.
Family prevention of education and family problems are two of the reasons cited for the suicide attempts of two teenage girls, aged 13 and 14, in the cities of Sanandaj and Kamyaran.
From April 1, 1400 to July 2, 1401, at least 12 children and adolescents have attempted suicide in various cities of Kurdistan Province. The youngest child among these individuals is Matin Hossein Panahi, 11 years old and from Dehgolan County, who committed suicide by hanging himself on June 18 of this year for unknown reasons. The oldest is a teenager named Nima Khosravi, about 18 years old, from Saqqez, who hanged herself and died in January of last year for unknown reasons.
Also, a 17-year-old boy in Sanandaj city attempted suicide by taking pills, but was saved from death after being taken to the hospital with the help of medical staff.
Gulaleh Vatan Doost, a lawyer and resident of Marivan, told HRANA about the phenomenon of suicide among children and adolescents in Kurdistan: “I believe that the reasons for these suicides can be divided into three categories: individual, family, and social. Emotional deficiencies, feelings of insecurity, feelings of worthlessness, and identity confusion in adolescence are some of the causes of suicide among children and adolescents. Adolescents need necessities such as proper clothing and food, recreational bicycles, tablets, and phones, and enrolling in music and sports classes like their other friends and peers, but unfortunately, due to unemployment, poverty, lack of income, and a deep class gap, families are unable to meet their needs.”
According to this lawyer, the situation of child suicide in Kurdistan has reached a crisis stage and needs crisis management. But not only is this not happening, but people who mediate the suicides of children and teenagers also face security challenges. On the other hand, families are also reluctant to publicize the issue of their children's suicides.
It seems that the decrease in the age of suicide attempts in Iran is not limited to the Kurdistan province, but can be seen throughout the country, especially after the outbreak of the coronavirus, suicide among children and adolescents has taken an upward trend.
Earlier, Mohammad Mehdi Tondgoyan, Deputy Minister of Youth Affairs of the Ministry of Sports and Youth, had said regarding the reduction of the age of suicide in the country: “Suicide in the country has been on the rise and the age is lower. I believe that a large part of suicides is due to people's economic and livelihood conditions, and since teenagers also have a strong presence in cyberspace and compare their lifestyle with other peers, and when they reach this deficiency, why do they not live like others, they may commit suicide.”
In addition, Seyyed Hassan Mousavi Chelak, the head of the Social Workers Association, told a local news agency in this regard: "Teenage suicides have existed in Iran for a long time, but in the past these suicides were not published and people were not aware of them, but today, due to the expansion of cyberspace, all these suicides are covered in the news and everyone is informed about them."
Source: HRANA
