Rise in suicides among young Hongkongers sparks calls for more action
Many troubled youth avoid seeking help fearing stigma, labelling and causing parents concern
Suicide, acknowledged by the World Health Organization as a public health priority, has become the fourth-leading cause of death among young people aged 15 to 29. With a teenage suicide rate among the highest in the developed world, Hong Kong has seen a distressing surge in youngsters taking their own lives in recent years.
Hong Kong secondary school student Chan Chun* was 14 when he first thought of taking his life.
At home, he witnessed his father beating his two older brothers, police arriving to stop them fighting, and his distressed mother being sent to hospital after taking sleeping pills with alcohol.
When his brothers dropped out of school, his parents pinned all their hopes on him to perform better.
“They wanted me to study well and go to university, but I found no meaning in it and had no idea what I was doing at school,” recalled Chun, now 16 and in Form Five.
It made him physically ill. He suffered bouts of dizziness and had a stomachache often. He spent many nights crying himself to sleep.
