Study of Child and Adolescent Suicide Statistics in Kurdistan Province
The following report examines child and adolescent suicide from Farvardin of last year to the present in Kurdistan Province. From March 1, 1400 to June 1401, at least 12 children and adolescents have attempted suicide in various cities across Kurdistan Province. Of this number, 11 children and adolescents lost their lives, and 1 person was saved from death after being transferred to the hospital by medical staff.
According to Hrana news agency, the news organ of the Iranian human rights activists collective, the following report examines the state of child and adolescent suicide in Kurdistan Province.
A Statistical Overview of Child Suicide from Farvardin 1400 to June 1401
From March 1, 1400 to June 4, 1401, at least 12 children and adolescents in various cities across Kurdistan Province have attempted suicide. Of this number, 11 children and adolescents lost their lives, and 1 person was saved from death after being transferred to the hospital by medical staff. 6 of these suicides were reported by non-governmental media and 2 were reported by state news agencies. Additionally, the identities of 6 of these adolescents have been verified and confirmed by Hrana.
Methods and Reasons for Child Suicide
Among the suicides that occurred, 4 of these adolescents were girls and 8 were boys. The most common method of suicide attempt was hanging with 8 cases in first place, followed by drug overdose with 2 cases, and 2 other cases by unknown methods.
Family prevention from education and family problems are cited as reasons for suicide attempts by two teenage girls aged 13 and 14 in Sanandaj and Kamyaran cities.
From March 1, 1400 to June 4, 1401, at least 12 children and adolescents in various cities across Kurdistan Province have attempted suicide. Matin Hosseinpanahi, 11 years old from Dehloran city, is the youngest child among these individuals who on June 28, 1401, for unknown reasons, attempted suicide by hanging. Also, the oldest adolescent is approximately 18-year-old Nima Khosravi from Saqqez who in December of last year hanged himself for unknown reasons and died.
Also, a 17-year-old boy in Sanandaj city attempted suicide by drug overdose, and after being transferred to the hospital, he was saved from death with the help of medical staff.
Golale Vatandoost, a lawyer and resident of Marivan city, told Hrana regarding the phenomenon of suicide among children and adolescents in Kurdistan: “In my opinion, the reason for these suicides can be divided into three categories: personal, family, and social. Emotional deficiencies, sense of insecurity, feeling of worthlessness, and identity confusion in adolescence are among the causes of suicide among children and adolescents. The fact that an adolescent needs necessities such as appropriate clothing and food, a bicycle, entertainment, a tablet, an appropriate phone, and registration in music and sports classes like other friends and peers, but unfortunately due to unemployment, poverty, insufficient income, and deep class disparity, families are unable to provide for their needs.”
According to this lawyer, the situation of child suicide in Kurdistan has reached a crisis stage and requires crisis management. However, not only is this not being done, but those who report child and adolescent suicides in the media are also subject to security measures. On the other hand, families also have no desire to publicize the issue of their children’s suicide.
It appears that the decrease in the age of suicide attempts in Iran is not limited to Kurdistan Province and can be observed throughout the country, particularly after the outbreak of COVID-19, when suicide among children and adolescents has shown an upward trend.
Previously, Mohammad Mehdi Tandgoyan, Deputy Minister of Youth Affairs at the Ministry of Sports and Youth, had said regarding the decrease in the age of suicide in the country: “Suicide in the country is on an upward trend and has become younger. In my opinion, a large portion of suicides are due to the economic and livelihood situation of the people, and since adolescents also have a prominent presence in virtual spaces and compare their lifestyle with their peers, and when they reach the shortage of why they don’t live like others, they may attempt suicide.”
Furthermore, Seyed Hassan Mousavi Chaleq, head of the Social Workers Association, said to one of the domestic news agencies in this regard: “Adolescent suicide in Iran has existed 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 virtual space, all these suicides are covered by the news and everyone becomes aware of them”.”
Source: Hrana
