Suicides on the rise
The number of suicide cases, mainly involving men, has increased by 57% over the last nine years, for various reasons.
The methods used are usually hanging, accounting for 52% of the cases between 2003 and 2012, followed by 21.3% who poisoned themselves and 20.2% who shot themselves. Women are more likely to use poison and men more likely to use firearms.
A report issued by the National Statistics Office (ONE) shows that whilst suicides are less dramatic than car accidents, and do not make the news like homicides, they represent lives cut short by personal suffering.
According to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO), for the World Suicide Prevention Day, around 3000 people kill themselves each day worldwide, and for each one who succeeds another 20 attempt suicide.
The WHO data shows that in 2012, 638 Dominicans killed themselves, one more than the previous year, but the number of cases from 2003 to 2012 shows a 57% increase. In 2012, 84.5% of the victims were male, but the number of women is also increasing, from 48 cases in 2003 to 99 in 2007.
The analysis shows that suicide in the Dominican Republic is more prevalent among young people with more than half aged between 20 and 44 (53.3%) and 32.5% between 20 and 34. However, young women between 15 and 19 are responsible for 12.4% of female suicides whereas men in the same age group barely account for 6%.
Aumentan 57% casos de suicidios en nueve a?os - listindiario.com