MALE SUICIDE RATES STILL THREE TIMES HIGHER THAN FEMALE SUICIDE RATES

Recently it had been mentioned that when a male member of the now defunct Equal Opportunities Commission had been asked why there was no Minister for Men, he depressingly but unsurprisingly said there was no reason to have one.

The recent figures (published Jan 2008) by the Office of National Statistics (link) and (link) on male suicide rates clearly show one of innumerable reasons why there should be a Minister for Men and why more attention needs to be given to the sad tales behind the figures.

In 2006, there were 5,554 suicides in the UK and three quarters of these were men. 4,196 men committed suicide (17.4 per 100,000) whilst for women the figures were 1,358 (5.3 per 100,000)

In addition, whilst the rates of suicide for men between 15-44 and 75+ have fallen, those for men 45-74 has actually increased. The figures from the Office of National Statistics are below:-

According to CALM, who help and run a helpline for depressed men (link), one hundred thousand years of life are lost each year as a result of British men killing themselves. This of course, does not just affect the men themselves, it also affects their friends and families, of course many of whom are women.

The issue comes back again to the lack of help and support for depressed men from statutory agencies and the general anti-male, pro-women attitude by the state which means that many men are feeling scened class and are actually being treated as second class. There is no real help aimed at depressed men and certainly a Minister for Men would bring this into focus.

One key issue that often drives depression and suicide is when the economy turns and men start to lose their jobs thereby finding it harder to provide for their family or even get onto the job ladder. This also brings into sharp focus all the extra help that women receive in the workplace.

If the economy does turn in the next 18 months, then this may increase the male rates of suicide. The figures on the chart above show that male suicide rates were high in the early 90's, the time of the last recession.

Comments

[John Kimble]

Suicide rates are the ultimate method of illustrating how oppressed or disadvantaged a particular group is.

For me it ties together a number of men's issues perfectly. I wonder how many of the suicides came about as a result of false rape allegations? I very much doubt the recent case of Ian Adams who was sacked by IKEA soley due to a letter that falsely claimed he had abused women and children is an isolated incident

[Barry Madison]

What is most disheartening to me, what is most hurtful in issues relating to gender, is that men are made to feel like whiners when we raise concerns about problems that predominantly affect men. I concede that not every matter that disproportionately affects men is a cause for concern, and perhaps we need to pick our battles more carefully. Suicide, however, is right there at the top of the list -- it would be immoral to ignore the fact that this strikes men at such incredible rates. I agree -- there seems no greater indicia of "oppression" in a society than when suicide targets a class. It's not the "oppression" that keeps men from voting or from earning a living, it's a more complex, sinister oppression that makes men despair -- perhaps because too much expecation is placed on their shoulders. Whatever the causes, the fact that it targets males tells us there is something terribly, terribly wrong.

[Nigel]

As well as Suicide men are very much more likely to have undiagnosed dpression and a whole series of poor prognoses for health conditions than for women. Sadly suicide and homelessness(the latter again mainly a problem for men) are also very disproportionate for ex servicemen. Health (mental and phsical) is a very clear area for a focus on men.

[ian]

i think men are not treated fairly by the powers that be, have you ever tried to get housing for a single male? you may as well not bother, ever been out of work and tried claiming benefits , you may as well not bother, ever tried to get access to your kids ! or custody! dont be silly. i have no where to live , i have no job, i have tried to get a job that would afford me some place to live . i am 22 years fully skilled in my field of work , but how do you apply for a decent job when its box number this or that or they want nvq 1 2 and 3, which i have not got but do have 20 odd years experience . i blame the government over the last 10 years they have added red tape and legislation upon legislation, and taxed every decent working class person to death , people are depressed , people cant afford to live, dont be surprised if there is a huge increase in teenage and middle aged suicides over the next few years.
the future is looking very very bleak for a lot of normal decent folk.

[ian]

oh sorry forgot to add , i feel like ending it all on a regular basis, i am sick of it all.

[sentyan]

The economy isn't doing well it took me,along time to find a place. I can afford as a single man but there,are times that test men. So I can understand why they give up!

[Mark]

This is what happens when men are women are encouraged to compete with each other for the same things. In the past, men and women competed with other men and women, but not each other as we were encouraged to have different goals. Women who have been repressed for many years by previous generations of men, so as always happens, the balance is thrown too far the other way. Now women have numerous advantages over men so the playing field isn't level, and we are supposed to sit back and accept it as punishment for the acts of men against women throughout history...... The needs of the few now outweight the needs of the many, and this is the fault of the media for not representing white men, giving us no voice. Animals have more rights than men now, we are fast becoming the Cannon Fodder of society, taking the wrap for pretty much everything while women sit back, shake their heads and sigh.....