Hong Kong NGO warns of pupil suicide rise after logging 10 cases amid term start
NGO says tally marks rise from six logged from mid-August to September of 2023, as authorities report drop in suspected cases over longer period
Hong Kong’s largest suicide prevention group has said more pupils took their own lives around the start of the school term this year than during the same period in 2023, calling for more crisis intervention options to better address the stigma over seeking help.
Samaritan Befrienders Hong Kong said that based on data collected from news reports and its school networks, the number of student suicides rose between mid-August and September, a peak period for cases. Ten children took their lives this year during the period compared with the six during the same time frame in 2023.
For the first 10 months of 2024, the group’s suicide crisis intervention centre received more than 240 requests for help from youngsters. The full-year figures in 2023 and 2022 were 217 and 175, respectively.
Samaritan Befrienders executive director Angie Chan Hiu-yuen said that despite abundant efforts devoted to student suicide prevention in recent years, there were many “offsetting factors”.
“As we go all out to find out students at risk of killing themselves, some will try even harder to mask their emotional distress out of worries of being sent to the psychiatric ward. That’s what young people shared a lot on social media,” said Chan, who took up the role at the NGO in September.
“It’s still common for people to denounce those who commit suicide as being ‘irresponsible’, which further deters suicidal people from sharing their thoughts.”
