Suicide

• Sterftecijfers van het CDC die in 2026 zijn gepubliceerd, laten zien dat zelfmoord opnieuw in de top 10 van doodsoorzaken in de VS staat, waarbij het COVID-19 heeft vervangen te midden van toenemende mentale gezondheidsproblemen. • In 2024 rapporteerden 61,5 miljoen volwassenen in de VS mentale gezondheidsproblemen, waaronder 11,6 miljoen jongvolwassenen in de leeftijd van 18-25 jaar, een stijging ten opzichte van 58,7 miljoen volwassenen en 11,5 miljoen jongvolwassenen in 2023. • Ongeveer 5% van de Amerikaanse volwassenen rapporteerde regelmatig depressie en 12% rapporteerde angstgevoelens; dit zijn de meest voorkomende aandoeningen die bijdragen aan de toegenomen prevalentie van mentale gezondheidsproblemen.

Figures for England and Wales prompt calls for more rigorous police investigations of casesOnly 3% of suicides related to domestic abuse in England and Wales in the past five years have resulted in any sort of prosecution, figures show.Between 2020 and 2025, 553 people took their own lives after suspected abuse in an intimate relationship, but only 17 posthumous charges were brought.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email [email protected] or [email protected]. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

• A new suicide prevention strategy shifts focus from crisis intervention to upstream policies designed to give people reasons to live and address root causes of suicide risk. • The approach has demonstrated effectiveness in helping individuals in acute distress, including a farmer profiled by CBS News who benefited from this comprehensive intervention model. • This prevention philosophy represents an evolving understanding of mental health intervention that emphasizes long-term resilience and life satisfaction over immediate crisis management.

Police warn of violent pornography and ‘toxic’ influencers as suicides outstrip homicides for third year runningThe first teenage girl has been identified as having been driven to kill herself after domestic violence, as police chiefs blamed violent pornography and “toxic” influencers for being behind a rise in teen abuse.Suicides after domestic abuse have outstripped homicides for the third year running, according to the Domestic Homicide Project, which records deaths in England and Wales after domestic abuse. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Samaritans calls for mandatory training for firefighters amid rise in incidentsSuicide-related callouts to fire and rescue services in England have tripled in the last decade, with Samaritans now calling for mandatory training for firefighters, who they say are struggling to deal with the increase in traumatic incidents.New figures show that fire services in England attended 3,250 suicide callouts in the year ending September 2025, the equivalent to 62 callouts a week. This was up from 997 callouts in 2009-10 when records begin.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email [email protected] or [email protected]. In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

• A March 31, 2026, Bioethics Public Policy Report states 14,446 Americans have died by physician-assisted suicide since 1997, with Aging with Dignity estimating the actual number is higher due to underreporting. • The report provides state-by-state analysis of assisted dying trends and policies. • Findings underscore ongoing debates in end-of-life care and public policy.

Christopher Trybus is charged with manslaughter and two counts of rape and coercive and controlling behaviourA man accused of subjecting his wife to a campaign of “physical and sexual violence” said finding out she had died by hanging was the “worst day of my life”.Tarryn Baird, 34, was found dead at her home in Swindon, Wiltshire, on 28 November 2017. Christopher Trybus, 43, is charged with his wife’s manslaughter as well as two counts of rape and coercive and controlling behaviour. He denies all the charges. Continue reading...