BREAKING THE SILENCE: MEN AND SUICIDE
Three times more men than women take their own lives
MEN are more than three times as likely to commit suicide as women. Data from the Office for National Statistics show an average of 16 people a day took their own lives in 2016 - and 12 were male.
Across the year, there were 4,508 registered male suicides compared to 1,457 female suicides.
The gender gap has been around since modern records began.
The earliest available figures, from 1985, show that 4,416 of the 6,746 people who committed suicide that year were male.
In fact, suicide is the single biggest killer of men under the age of 45 in the UK.
The data also shows a disturbing number of young boys are taking their own lives.
Three male children between the ages of 10 and 14 committed suicide in 10-14, along with 145 teenage boys aged 15-19.
Men aged 45-49 remained the age group with the highest suicide rates, however.
Some 526 men of that age took their own lives in 2016.
Within the UK, Northern Ireland has by far the highest incidence of male suicide. Some 27 men per every 100,000 living there took their own lives in 2016. That compared with 22 in Scotland, 20 in Wales and 15 in England. The Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) is a charity dedicated to preventing male suicide. Simon Gunning, chief executive of CALM, said: “It is ingrained in society that men are meant to be manly. “We hear it all the time in things like ‘man up’. “This perception will only change by talking about it. We pushing for there to be a minister for suicide and prevention.” A spokesperson for Samaritans said: “Suicide is complex and each person’s circumstances are individual and influenced by different factors. All threats of suicide should be taken seriously and it is important to remember there is help available for anyone who is struggling to cope, feeling suicidal, or is worried about someone they know.”