Among adolescents ages, 13-17 in St Vincent and the Grenadines 1 in 4 or 27% seriously considered attempting suicide.
Suicide is death caused by injuring oneself with the intent to die. A suicide attempt is when someone harms themselves with any intent to end their life, but they do not die due to their actions.
This information was gleaned from a 2021 UNICEF report on child well-being in SVG.
According to the report, 19% attempted suicide one or more.
Girls (34%) were twice as likely as boys (17%) to consider attempting suicide; this is a similar gender pattern among adolescents ages 13-15 and 16-17.
The report further indicated that Girls (21%) were also more likely than boys (15%) to attempt suicide one or more times and this is a similar gender pattern among adolescents ages 13-15 and 16-17.
It is notable that more than 1 in 3 or 34% of girls ages 13-17 considered attempting suicide, and nearly 1 in 5 of 19% of girls ages 13-17 tried suicide one or more times, the report highlighted.
Note
Many factors can increase the risk for suicide or protect against it. Suicide is connected to other forms of injury and violence. For example, people who have experienced violence, including child abuse, bullying, or sexual violence have a higher suicide risk.
Being connected to family and community support and having easy access to health care can decrease suicidal thoughts and behaviours.
