Norman Louis Farberow (12 February 1918 to 10 September 2015) was an American psychologist, and one of the founding fathers of modern suicidology. He was among the three founders in 1958 of the Los Angeles Suicide Prevention Centre, which became a base of research into the causes and prevention of suicide.
The Jed Foundation (JED) is a non-profit organisation that protects emotional health and prevents suicide for teens and young adults in the United States.
JED partners with high schools and colleges to strengthen their mental health, substance misuse and suicide prevention programmes and systems. They equip teens and young adults with the skills and knowledge to help themselves and each other. They encourage community awareness, understanding and action for young adult mental health.
In 1998, we lost our youngest son Jed to suicide. Since then, we have worked to understand this unendurable tragedy. Although suicide was and continues to be a leading cause of death among young adults, schools had no uniform model for preventing suicide on campus. Communities struggled to overcome the shame and secrecy that prevented honest discussion of mental health. Campus prevention programs were limited in scope and priority. In 2000, we founded The Jed Foundation (JED) to surmount these hurdles and launch a blueprint for prevention. Today, JED is the nation’s leading organization dedicated to young adult mental health.
We thank our friends, partners and supporters for making this possible. We thank all of you who have accompanied us on this journey from loss to hope. Your commitment to protecting the lives of young people is transforming the conversation around mental health and mobilizing communities to action. Together we are helping students navigate the emotional challenges of college, prepare for adulthood, and thrive. Donna & Phil Satow.
The JED Foundation is rated 4-stars by Charity Navigator, their highest rating.
The JED website provides information about common emotional health issues and provides guidance for those concerned about themselves or others.
A nationwide initiative designed to help colleges and universities develop campus-wide systems, programs and policies to support mental health and prevent substance abuse and suicide. Following JED’s Comprehensive Approach, JED Campuses embark on a multi-year strategic partnership with JED to build a safety net for their students. The JED Campus program involves nearly 170 campuses.
A new programme that guides students, families and high school educators through the social, emotional and mental health challenges related to the transition out of high school to college and adulthood. Set to Go currently features a Transition of Care Guide, Right Fit Worksheet and other tools for students and families.
A mental health resource centre for college students that provides information about emotional health issues and the resources available on their campus. It also offers a confidential mental health self-screening tool. Over 1,600 colleges and universities are registered on ULifeline.
An award-winning programme from JED & MTV featuring a library of free-for-use videos including PSAs, celebrities and students talking about their personal experiences with mental health and substance use. Half of Us helps young people feel less alone and encourages them to reach out for help.
A community-oriented site offering advice, support, and information on well-being and self-care. Co-founded by actress and singer Brittany Snow.
JED also partners with a number of organizations on educational and awareness campaigns and projects and creates guides and tools for professionals, parents and students.
A national campaign in partnership with Ad Council and American Foundation for Suicide Prevention that encourages teens and young adults to “seize the awkward” by reaching out to a friend who may be struggling with mental health problems.
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) is a voluntary health organisation based in New York City, with a public policy office based in Washington, D.C.
The organisation’s stated mission is to “save lives and bring hope to those affected by suicide.”
Refer to Suicide Awareness.
Founded in 1987 as the American Suicide Foundation by Herbert Hendin M.D., AFSP is the world’s largest private funder of suicide prevention research. The founding families, alarmed by a combination of increases in death by suicide in the previous four decades and with their personal experience with loved ones dying by suicide, decided to the create AFSP in order to establish a private source of support for suicide research, education, and prevention efforts that could be sustained into the future. According to a Charity Navigator rating published in September 2018, more than 83% of the organisation’s finances went towards programme expenses (based on financial data from fiscal year 2017), receiving a perfect rating for accountability and transparency. AFSP also partners with Aetna (a US managed health care company that sells traditional and consumer directed health care insurance and related services).
For 2018, AFSP received $37 million in financial contributions from 700,000 new and returning donors.
Programmes designed to educate the larger public about suicide and prevention best practices, such as Talk Saves Lives: An Introduction to Suicide Prevention, are offered by AFSP under the umbrella of prevention education and provide a general understanding of suicide, including its scope and what can be done to prevent it.
International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day (also known as “Survivor Day”) is one of the most prominent postvention programmes or events organised by AFSP. Originally introduced as “National Survivors of Suicide Loss Day” in 1999, when United States Senator Harry Reid – himself a survivor of suicide loss – formally introduced a resolution to the Senate, the day is officially observed annually on the Saturday before American Thanksgiving.
The Interactive Screening Programme, or ISP, is an online tool offered by AFSP first piloted at Emory University, and has since been implemented in colleges, police departments, workplaces and the NFL Players Union. Francis Levesque created this in Sept-Îles in 1973 in meeting all members of the association.
In August 2016, AFSP formed a partnership with the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a gun industry trade association, to educate the firearm-owning community on suicide prevention through outreach at firearm retailers and shooting ranges. In December 2017, The New York Times released an opinion piece written by Erin Dunkerly, a volunteer whose father died by suicide using a firearm. The piece cites that there is a high risk of suicide from keeping firearms in the home, but claims that local AFSP staff told volunteers not to discuss the topic of gun control. The piece goes on to say that AFSP excluded from its walks violence prevention groups that promoted gun control, and that AFSP excludes the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence from donating or participating. According to a post published on digital health community The Mighty, similar accounts of gun safety groups have been reported in Wisconsin by Khary Penebaker, San Diego by Wendy Wheatcroft, and in Maine by Judi Richardson.
Samaritans is a registered charity aimed at providing emotional support to anyone in emotional distress, struggling to cope, or at risk of suicide throughout Great Britain and Ireland, often through their telephone helpline.
Its name derives from the biblical Parable of the Good Samaritan although the organisation itself is non-religious. Its international network exists under the name Befrienders Worldwide, which is part of the Volunteer Emotional Support Helplines (VESH) with Lifeline International and the International Federation of Telephone Emergency Services (IFOTES).
Samaritans was founded in 1953 by Chad Varah, a vicar in the Church of England Diocese of London. His inspiration came from an experience he had had some years earlier as a young curate in the Diocese of Lincoln. He had taken a funeral for a fourteen-year old girl who had killed herself because she feared she had contracted an STD. In reality, she was menstruating. Varah placed an advertisement in a newspaper encouraging people to volunteer at his church, listening to people contemplating suicide.
The movement grew rapidly: within ten years there were 40 branches and now there are 201 branches across the UK and Ireland helping many, deliberately organised without regard to national boundaries on the basis that a service which is not political or religious should not recognise sectarian or political divisions. Samaritans offers support through over 21,200 trained volunteers (2015) and is entirely dependent on voluntary support. The name was not originally chosen by Chad Varah: it was part of a headline to an article in the Daily Mirror newspaper on 07 December 1953 about Varah’s work.
In 2004, Samaritans announced that volunteer numbers had reached a thirty-year low, and launched a campaign to recruit more young people (specifically targeted at ages 18-24) to become volunteers. The campaign was fronted by Phil Selway, drummer with the band Radiohead, himself a Samaritans volunteer.
In 2004, Varah announced that he had become disillusioned with Samaritans. He said, “It’s no longer what I founded. I founded an organisation to offer help to suicidal or equally desperate people. The last elected chairman re-branded the organisation. It was no longer to be an emergency service, it was to be emotional support”. One in five calls to Samaritans are from someone with suicidal feelings. Samaritans’ vision is that fewer people will die by suicide.
The core of Samaritans’ work is a telephone helpline, operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Samaritans was the first 24-hour telephone helpline to be set up in the UK. In addition, the organisation offers a drop-in service for face-to-face discussion, undertakes outreach at festivals and other outdoor events, trains prisoners as “Listeners” to provide support within prisons, and undertakes research into suicide and emotional health issues.
Since 1994, Samaritans has also offered confidential email support. Initially operating from one branch, the service is now provided by 198 branches and co-ordinated from the organisation’s head office. In 2011, Samaritans received over 206,000 emails, including many from outside the UK, and aims to answer each one within 24 hours. In 2009, Ofcom introduced the first harmonised European numbers for harmonised services of social value, allocating 116 123 to Samaritans. This number is free to call from mobiles and landlines. From 22 September 2015, Samaritans has promoted 116123 as their main number, replacing the premium rate 0845 number previously advertised.
In 2014, Samaritans received 5,100,000 calls for help by phone, email, text, letter, minicom, Typetalk, face-to-face at a branch, through their work in prisons, and at local and national festivals and other events.
Samaritans volunteers are given rigorous training, and as such they are non-judgmental, empathic and congruent. By listening and asking open questions, the Samaritans volunteers help people explore their feelings and work out their own way forward.
Samaritans does not denounce suicide, and it is not necessary to be suicidal to contact Samaritans. In 2014, nearly 80% of the people calling Samaritans did not express suicidal feelings. Samaritans believes that offering people the opportunity to be listened to in confidence, and accepted without prejudice, can alleviate despair and make emotional health a mainstream issue.
In 2013, following extensive consultation with journalists and editors throughout the industry, Samaritans produced a set of guidelines outlining best practice when reporting suicide. Since its publication, the organisation has received many awards in recognition of its work influencing the way in which suicide is reported.
On 29 October 2014, Samaritans launched the Samaritans Radar app, which Twitter users could activate to analyse tweets posted by people they followed; it sent an email alert to the user if it detected signs of distress in a tweet. However, because Twitter users were not notified that their account was being monitored in this way, concerns were raised that the service could be abused by stalkers and internet trolls, who would instantly be made aware that an intended victim was potentially feeling vulnerable.
Following concerns, the service was suspended on 07 November 2014, nine days after launch. Joe Ferns, policy director for Samaritans, said in a statement: “We have made the decision to suspend the application at this time for further consideration”. He added: “We are very aware that the range of information and opinion, which is circulating about Samaritans Radar, has created concern and worry for some people and would like to apologise to anyone who has inadvertently been caused any distress. This was not our intention”. The app was later withdrawn completely.
Samaritans have a strict code of caller confidentiality, even after the death of a caller. Unless the caller gives consent to pass on information, confidentiality will be broken only in rare circumstances, such as when Samaritans receives bomb or terrorism warnings, to call an ambulance because a caller appears to be incapable of making rational decisions for themselves, or when the caller is threatening volunteers or deliberately preventing the service being delivered to other callers.
In November 2011, the Board of Trustees UK agreed a motion breaking with confidentiality in the Republic of Ireland by agreeing, “To provide confidential support to children but report to the Health Service Executive any contacts (from either adults or children) where it appears a child is experiencing specific situations such as those that can cause them serious harm from themselves or others.” In 2011, Facebook collaborated with Samaritans to offer help to people in distress. This led to ‘cold case’ calling, which some believed was an infringement on people’s privacy. An Irish journalist wrote of her experience of receiving such a communication.
Through its email service, Samaritans’ work has extended well beyond the UK and Ireland, as messages are received from all around the world.
Samaritans’ international reach is through Befrienders Worldwide, an organisation of over 400 centres in 38 countries offering similar activities. Samaritans took on and renamed the Befrienders International network in 2003, a year after it collapsed. Some members of Befrienders Worldwide also use the name Samaritans; this includes centres in the United States, India, Hong Kong, Serbia and Zimbabwe, among others.
The Volunteer Emotional Support Helplines (VESH) combines Samaritans (through Befrienders Worldwide) with the other two largest international services (IFOTES & Lifeline), and plans a combined international network of helplines. In their roles as emotional support service networks, they have all agreed to develop a more effective and robust international interface.
See also:
A number of other helplines exist that offer a similar service to Samaritans. These are often aimed at a specific sector/group of people.
She’s beautiful, artistic, loved and can’t stand to be alive. 32 PILLS traces the fascinating life and mental illness of my sister, New York artist and photographer Ruth Litoff, and my struggle to come to terms with her tragic suicide.
After struggling with mental illness for most of her life, New York artist Ruth Litoff committed suicide at age 42 in 2008 by overdosing on prescription pills. Six years later, her younger sister, Hope Litoff, decides to film herself while she empties a packed-to-the-brim storage unit filled with Ruth’s belongings, driven by the need to understand Ruth’s illness and desire to end her life – but as she pores through the items her sister left behind, she must exorcise the demons that threaten her sobriety.
Read the rest of the HBO synopsis here.
The Kristin Brooks Hope Center (KBHC), a 501(c)(3) public benefit corporation, was founded on 20 May 1998, by H. Reese Butler II after the death of his wife, Kristin Brooks Rossell Butler, who died by suicide in 1998.
Realising an urgency in this high profile public health crisis, which kills more than 34,000 Americans per year, KBHC was founded by her survivor with funds from the death benefit provided by her employer. Kristin suffered severe postpartum psychosis (PPP) after losing her unborn child on 05 December 1997. Her struggle with PPP was brought on by the prescription drug Zoloft which resulted in an SSRI syndrome. KBHC is more commonly known as the creator of the first network of suicide hotlines in the United States networked under the toll free number 1-800-SUICIDE (784-2433).
H. Reese Butler II started the Kristin Brooks Hope Centre after he received a check from his wife’s employer which was a death benefit amounting to one years salary. The amount was $34,017. Reese decided to donate the money to an organisation focused on preventing suicide as a result of postpartum depression or psychosis. Upon learning there was no such organisation in 1998 he decided donate it to an organisation that ran a national suicide hotline for people in crisis. Upon learning that in 1998 there was no national suicide hotline linking the more than 800 community based suicide crisis hotlines he founded the Kristin Brooks Hope Centre and began linking those community crisis hotlines through 1-888-SUICIDE (784-2433). 1-888-SUICIDE and 1-800-SUICIDE (784-2433) were both part of the National Hopeline Network from its activation 16 September 1998, until the FCC temporarily reassigned it in January 2006. The US Surgeon General David Satcher dedicated 1-888-SUICIDE (784-2433) on 07 May 1999, during a press conference organised by H. Reese Butler II. The event was filmed by Dempsey Rice, a Brooklyn based filmmaker (Daughter One Productions), for a project she was working on for HBO. The press event wrapped up with Jock Bartley, founding member of Firefall, singing “Call On Me” written for a 1998 compilation CD to benefit the Colorado based Pikes Peak Mental Health Crisis Centre. Bartley introduced H. Reese Butler II to Jonathan Cain of Journey with the hopes of creating a benefit concert to pay the phone bill for 1-800-SUICIDE (784-2433). The concert took place on 12 November 1999, at the Warfield in San Francisco. It was called “Reason to Live” and featured Firefall as the opening act with Journey headlining. Bev Cobain, cousin to Kurt Cobain and author of the book “When Nothing Matters Anymore” was the Master of Ceremonies for the concert.
During the three year federal grant known as the HELP Project, two separate studies to determine the effectiveness of suicide hotlines were conducted using 1-800-SUICIDE (784-2433) to conduct the evaluations. In the credits for the Mishara led study he specifically thanks Reese Butler, the Kristin Brooks Hope Centre staff, Jerry Reed, and the Directors and helpers at the crisis centres who participated in this study.
The Trevor Project is an American non-profit organisation founded in 1998 focused on suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth.
Through a toll-free telephone number, it operates The Trevor Lifeline, a confidential service that offers trained counsellors. The stated goals of the project are to provide crisis intervention and suicide prevention services for the aforementioned youths (defined by the organisation as people under 25), as well as to offer guidance and resources to parents and educators in order to foster safe, accepting, and inclusive environments for all youth, at home and at school.
The project was founded in 1998 in West Hollywood, California, by Celeste Lecesne, Peggy Rajski, and Randy Stone. They are the creators of the 1994 Academy Award-winning short film Trevor, a dramedy about Trevor, a gay thirteen-year-old boy who, when rejected by friends because of his sexuality, makes an attempt to take his life. When the film was scheduled to air on HBO television in 1998, the filmmakers realised that some of the programme’s young viewers might be facing the same kind of crisis as Trevor, and began to search for a support line to be broadcast during the airing. They discovered that no such helpline existed, and decided to dedicate themselves to forming the resource: an organisation to promote acceptance of LGBTQ youth, and to aid in crisis and suicide prevention among that group.
The Trevor Lifeline was established with seed funds provided by The Colin Higgins Foundation and HBO’s license fee. As a result, it became the first nationwide, around-the-clock crisis and suicide prevention helpline for LGBTQ youth. The project also provides online support to young people through the project’s website, as well as guidance and resources to educators and parents.
In November 2009, the project was contracted by the Tulare County Suicide Prevention Task Force, located in Tulare County, California. With this agreement, the project received public funds for the first time. In June 2009, seven Tulare County volunteers completed The Trevor Project Lifeguard Workshop Facilitator training. Lifeguard workshops have been done in schools in Tulare County municipalities, including Dinuba, Lindsay, Porterville and Visalia, as well as in Hanford in adjacent Kings County.
The Trevor Project has been supported by various celebrities, including Melanie Martinez, Ellen DeGeneres, Troye Sivan, Kathy Griffin, Shay Mitchell, Daniel Radcliffe, Neil Patrick Harris, James Marsden, Chris Colfer, Kim Kardashian, Darren Criss, Dianna Agron, George Takei, Anderson Cooper, John Oliver and Tyler Oakley. In 2021, the first openly gay active NFL player, Carl Nassib used his coming out to also announce a $100,000 donation to The Trevor Project.
The Trevor Lifeline is the only nationwide, around-the-clock crisis and suicide prevention helpline for LGBTQ youth in the United States. The lifeline is a free and confidential service from counsellors trained to listen without judging, and can refer callers to supportive local organisations and groups; this information is also available on the project’s website. The number for the line in the United States is 1-866-488-7386.
TrevorText is a confidential text messaging service provided by The Trevor Project 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
TrevorChat is a free, confidential, live and secure online messaging service provided by The Trevor Project 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
TrevorSpace is an online social networking community for LGBTQ+ youth ages 13 through 24, along with their friends and allies. Youth can create personal profiles, which are verified by the administrators before they are allowed to interact with other profiles, and connect with other young people internationally, as well as find resources within their communities. TrevorSpace is commonly used to receive or give advice and make friends who have shared similar experiences as the user. TrevorSpace is carefully monitored by administrators designated by the project to ensure all content is age-appropriate, youth-friendly and factual. Members over the age of 18 cannot privately message members under the age of 18. TrevorSpace links members to The Trevor Project’s home page, where information about The Trevor Lifeline, “Dear Trevor,” and other resources are available. The software used to create TrevorSpace was donated to the project by Tim Gill, an American software entrepreneur and philanthropist.
Through the Palette Fund Internship Programme, the project provides for five internships in both its Los Angeles and New York City offices. Interns are placed among the programme, communication, and development departments. The programme provides an opportunity for young people to learn about working in the non-profit sector. Palette Fund internships are specifically designed to introduce young leaders to the LGBTQ movement.
The Youth Advisory Council serves as a liaison between youth nationwide and the project on issues surrounding suicide, sexuality and gender identity. The council submits recommendations to the project in an effort to increase project visibility and best serve the LGBTQ youth population.
The project’s Lifeguard Workshop Programme uses a structured, age-appropriate curriculum to address topics around sexuality, gender identity, the impacts of language and behaviour, and what it means for young people to feel different. The programme also teaches young people to recognise depression and suicide amongst their peers, the impacts of language and behaviour on LGBTQ youth, and suicide prevention skills in schools.
On 10 February 2014, YouTube personality Tyler Oakley started a fundraiser to collect $150,000 for the Trevor Project. Oakley set the deadline for the money to be collected by the time of his birthday, 22 March, but the goal was reached after only six days. Oakley later extended the fundraiser and more than $462,000 had been raised as of 29 March. On 31 March the fundraiser ended, with a total of $525,754 raised.
The Trevor Project uses annual events to honour individuals and businesses that have been leaders in supporting LGBT rights and advocated against bullying and hate crimes. In 1998, it held the first Cracked Xmas fundraiser in Los Angeles, changing its name to TrevorLIVE Los Angeles in 2010. In 2001, a New York City-based annual event was added, using entertainers to raise financial resources for the organisation. This NYC-based event has had three names, beginning as “A Very Funny Whatever”, changing to TrevorNY in 2007 and then to TrevorLIVE New York in 2011. In the 2018 financial year (August 2017 to July 2018), these special events raised over $3,030,000.
The New York City event is typically held in June each year, and the Los Angeles event is typically held in late November or early December each year.
A variety of awards have been given over time and not all awards are given each year.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a United States-based suicide prevention network of over 160 crisis centres that provides 24/7 service via a toll-free hotline with the number 1-800-273-8255 (TALK).
It is available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress. The caller is routed to their nearest crisis centre to receive immediate counselling and local mental health referrals. The lifeline supports people who call for themselves or someone they care about. In July 2020, the US Federal Communication Commission (FCC) finalised an order to direct telecommunication carriers to implement 9-8-8 as the new toll-free nationwide telephone number for the hotline by 16 July 2022.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline grant is one component of the National Suicide Prevention Initiative (NSPI), a multi-project effort to reduce suicide, led by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Centre for Mental Health Services.
In July 2004, SAMHSA released a notice of funding availability (NOFA) as part of its National Suicide Prevention Initiative (NSPI). In keeping with SAMHSA’s duty to advance the goals of the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention, the NOFA called for proposals from non-profit organisations to expand, enhance, and sustain a network of certified crisis centres providing suicide prevention and intervention services to those in need using a toll-free number and website.
In September 2004, the Mental Health Association of New York City (MHA-NYC) was selected to administer the federally funded network of crisis centres named the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
In December 2004, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline was founded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a division of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Google, Bing, Yahoo and Ask.com all place the phone number and website details of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline as the reserved first result for when one enters keywords related to suicide, such as “How to tie a noose” and “I want to die.”
In April 2017, Logic, an American musician and rapper released a song featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid for his third album Everybody titled “1-800-273-8255”, the number used for The National Suicide Prevention Hotline. On the day of the song release, the lifeline received one of its highest daily call volumes. It was made to bring awareness to the hotline and to the problems associated with suicide. After being featured on the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards, it increased the calls to the hotline by 50% that night. On the day of the song release, “Lifeline’s Facebook page saw 3 times its usual traffic” and Lifeline’s “website saw a 17% increase in users in May 2017 over the previous month.” Many of the callers to several crisis centres have mentioned Logic’s song, and a third of those callers were struggling with suicidal thoughts. The song was performed at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards as a tribute to Linkin Park vocalist Chester Bennington, who committed suicide in the previous year.
The National Suicide Hotline Improvement Act of 2018 required the Federal Communications Commission and other agencies to consider a three-digit number for the hotline. On 15 August 2019, FCC staff recommended that the Commission designate the number 988 for the hotline. On 12 December 2019, the Commission approved a proposed rule starting the process for public commenting and final rule making. The rule was adopted on 16 July 2020 in final form in a 5-0 vote by the FCC. The rule requires telecommunication carriers to implement the telephone number 988 to route calls to the existing service number by 16 July 2022. This provides sufficient time to expand staff and training to handle the anticipated call volume. As 988 is already assigned as a central office prefix in many area codes, the dialling procedures for these areas must prescribe ten-digit dialling, or the central office prefix 988 must be retired. Where necessary, ten-digit dialling will become mandatory on 24 October 2021.
On 17 October 2020, the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act (S.2661) was signed into law to support the implementation of the hotline. Disability advocates, calling for equity, petitioned the FCC to implement text-to-988 service for hard-of-hearing and speech-disabled people. The following month, on 20 November 2020, T-Mobile became the first wireless carrier to implement the 9-8-8 number for voice calls.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has recommended using a three-digit number, most likely 988, for a similar program in Canada. Should 988 be used, it would require the last four areas without ten-digit dialling currently in place or with a planned overlay, those being area codes 506, 709, 807 and 867, to convert to ten-digit dialling to implement, as 988 is an active prefix in all areas above.
In June 2007, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) partnered with SAMHSA and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to provide a veterans hotline to help veterans in emotional crisis. Callers who identify themselves as a US military veteran are routed to a special veterans hotline. This service caters to VA-specific mental health care needs, and helps connect vets to the VA Healthcare system. In addition to the hotline, the veterans hotline also offers text messaging support by texting to 838255, as well as an online chat service for those who want to use the hotline.
The International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) is an international suicide prevention organisation.
Founded by Erwin Ringel and Norman Farberow in 1960, IASP, which is in an official relationship with the World Health Organisation (WHO), is dedicated to preventing suicidal behaviour and providing a forum for mental health professionals, crisis workers, suicide survivors and other people in one way or another affected by suicidal behaviour. The organisation now consists of professionals and volunteers from over 50 countries worldwide.
The IASP also co-sponsors, with the WHO, World Suicide Prevention Day on 10 September every year.
The IASP holds international congresses every two years. XXIX World Congress of the IASP will be organised in Kuching (Malaysia) in 2017.
Past Congresses
The IASP provides awards for those who have contributed in a significant way to the furthering of the aims of the Association. Awards are presented at the IASP biennial conference.
The Stengel Research Award has been provided since 1977 and is named in honour of Professor Erwin Stengel, one of the founders of the IASP. This award is for outstanding research in the field of suicidology, and nominations can be made by any member of IASP.
The Ringel Service Award was instituted in 1995 and honours Professor Erwin Ringel, the founding President of the Association. This award is for distinguished service in the field of suicidology, and nominations can be made by National Representatives of IASP.
The Farberow Award was introduced in 1997 in recognition of Professor Norman Farberow, a founding member and driving force behind the IASP. This award is for a person who has contributed significantly in the field of work with survivors of suicide, and nominations can be made by any IASP member.
The De Leo Fund Award honours the memory of Nicola and Vittorio, the children of Professor Diego De Leo, IASP Past President. The Award is offered to distinguished scholars in recognition of their outstanding research on suicidal behaviours carried out in developing countries.
The Association’s journal, Crisis – The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention, has been published since 1980.
World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) is an awareness day observed on 10 September every year, in order to provide worldwide commitment and action to prevent suicides, with various activities around the world since 2003.
The International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) collaborates with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH) to host World Suicide Prevention Day. In 2011 an estimated 40 countries held awareness events to mark the occasion. According to WHO’s Mental Health Atlas released in 2014, no low-income country reported having a national suicide prevention strategy, while less than 100% of lower-middle income countries, and almost a third of upper-middle and high-income countries had.
On its first event in 2003, the 1999 WHO’s global suicide prevention initiative is mentioned with regards to the main strategy for its implementation, requiring:
As of recent WHO releases, challenges represented by social stigma, the taboo to openly discuss suicide, and low availability of data are still to date obstacles leading to poor data quality for both suicide and suicide attempts: “given the sensitivity of suicide – and the illegality of suicidal behaviour in some countries – it is likely that under-reporting and misclassification are greater problems for suicide than for most other causes of death.”
Suicide has a number of complex and interrelated and underlying contributing factors … that can contribute to the feelings of pain and hopelessness. Having access to means to kill oneself – most typically firearms, medicines and poisons – is also a risk factor. Campaign release.
Refer to Suicide Prevention, Suicidal Ideation, Suicide Awareness, and Epidemiology of Suicide.
An estimated one million people per year die by suicide or about one person in 10,000 (1.4% of all deaths), or “a death every 40 seconds or about 3,000 every day”. As of 2004 the number of people who die by suicide is expected to reach 1.5 million per year by 2020.
On average, three male suicides are reported for every female one, consistently across different age groups and in almost every country in the world. “Conversely, rates of suicide attempts tend to be 2-3 times higher in women than in men, although the gender gap has narrowed in recent years.” More people die from suicide than from murder and war; it is the 13th leading cause of death worldwide. According to WHO there are twenty people who have a suicide attempt for every one that is fatal, at a rate approximately one every three seconds. Suicide is the “most common cause of death for people aged 15 – 24.”
According to WHO, suicide accounts for nearly half of all violent deaths in the world. Brian Mishara, IASP president, noted that, “more people kill themselves than die in all wars, terrorist acts and interpersonal violence combined.” As of 2008, the WHO refers the widest number of suicides occur in the age group 15-29, while the lowest in the 80+ although representing as well the one with the highest rate (per 100,000) of all age groups, with 27.8 suicides and 60.1 for females and males respectively. In 2015 the reported global age-standardized rate is 10.7 per 100,000.
Social norms play a significant role in the development of suicidal behaviours. Late 19th century’s sociological studies recorded first ever observations on suicide: with statistics of the time at hand, sociologists mentioned the effects of industrialisation as in relations between new urbanised communities and vulnerability to self-destructive behaviour, suggesting social pressures have effects on suicide. Today, differences in suicidal behaviour among different countries can be significant.
Suicide prevention’s priorities, as declared on the 2012 World Suicide Prevention Day event, are stated below:
Below are two quotes on the subject of suicide:
“The main suicide triggers are poverty, unemployment, the loss of a loved one, arguments and legal or work-related problems [..] Suicide results from many complex sociocultural factors and is more likely to occur during periods of socioeconomic, family and individual crisis (e.g. loss of a loved one, unemployment, sexual orientation, difficulties with developing one’s identity, disassociation from one’s community or other social/belief group, and honour). [..] In richer countries, three times as many men die of suicide than women do, but in low- and middle-income countries the male-to-female ratio is much lower at 1.5 men to each woman. [..] In the United States, males are four times more likely to die from suicide than are females. However, females are more likely to attempt suicide than are males. [..] The disparity in suicide rates has been partly explained by the use of more lethal means and the experience of more aggression and higher intent to die [..] in men than women.”
“In much of the world, suicide is stigmatized and condemned for religious or cultural reasons. In some countries, suicidal behavior is a criminal offence punishable by law. Suicide is therefore often a secretive act surrounded by taboo, and may be unrecognized, misclassified or deliberately hidden in official records of death. [..] Stigma, particularly surrounding mental disorders and suicide, means many people thinking of taking their own life or who have attempted suicide are not seeking help and are therefore not getting the help they need. The prevention of suicide has not been adequately addressed due to a lack of awareness of suicide as a major public health problem and the taboo in many societies to openly discuss it. [..] Raising community awareness and breaking down the taboo is important for countries to make progress in preventing suicide.”
Physical and especially mental health disabling issues such as depression, are among the most common of the long list of complex and interrelated factors, ranging from financial problems to the experience of abuse, aggression, exploitation and mistreatment, that can contribute to the feelings of pain and hopelessness underling suicide. Usually substances and alcohol abuse also play a role. Prevention strategies generally emphasize public awareness towards social stigma and suicidal behaviours.
In 1999, death by self-inflicted injuries was the fourth leading cause of death among aged 15-44, in the world. In a 2002 study it was reported the countries with the lowest rates tend to be in Latin America, “Muslim countries and a few Asian countries”, and noted a lack of information from most African countries. Data quality is to date a concern for suicide prevention policies. Incidence of suicide tends to be under-reported and misclassified due to both cultural and social pressures, and possibly completely unreported in some areas. Since data might be skewed, comparing suicide rates between nations can result in statistically unsound conclusions about suicidal behaviour in different countries. Nevertheless, the statistics are commonly used to directly influence decisions about public policy and public health strategies.
Of the 34 member countries of the OECD, a group of mostly high-income countries that uses market economy to improve the Human Development Index, South Korea had the highest suicide rate in 2009. In 2011 South Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare enacted legislation coinciding with WSPD to address the high rate.
In 2008 it was reported that young people 15-34 years old in China were more likely to die by suicide than by any other mean, especially young Chinese women in rural places because of “arguments about marriage”. By 2011 however, suicide rate for the same age group had been declining significantly according to official releases, mainly by late China’s urbanisation and migration from rural areas to more urbanised: since the 1990s indeed, overall national Chinese suicide rate dropped by 68%.
According to WHO, in 2009 the four countries with the highest rates of suicide were all in Eastern Europe; Slovenia had the fourth highest rate preceded by Russia, Latvia, and Belarus. This stays within findings from the start of the WSPD event in 2003 when the highest rates were also found in Eastern European countries. As of 2015 the highest suicide rates are still in Eastern Europe, Korea and the Siberian area bordering China, in Sri Lanka and the Guianas, Belgium and few Sub-Saharan countries.
According to WHO’s Mental health Atlas released in 2014, no low-income country reported having a national suicide prevention strategy, while less than 10% of lower-middle income countries, and almost a third of upper-middle and high-income countries had. Focus of the WSPD is the fundamental problem of suicide, considered a major public health issue in high-income and an emerging problem in low and middle-income countries. Among high-income countries (besides South Korea) highest rates in 2015 are found across some Eastern European countries, Belgium and France, Japan, Croatia and Austria, Uruguay and Finland.
Socioeconomic status plays an important role in suicidal behaviour, and wealth is a constant with regards to Male-Female suicide rate ratios, being that excess male mortality by suicide is generally limited or non-existent in low- and middle-income societies, whereas it is never absent in high-income countries.
Suicidal behaviour is also subject of study for economists since about the 1970s: although national costs of suicide and suicide attempts (up to 20 for every one completed suicide) are very high, suicide prevention is hampered by scarce resources for lack of interest by mental health advocates and legislators; and moreover, personal interests even financial are studied with regards to suicide attempts for example, in which insights are given that often “individuals contemplating suicide do not just choose between life and death … the resulting formula contains a somewhat paradoxical conclusion: attempting suicide can be a rational choice, but only if there is a high likelihood it will cause the attempter’s life to significantly improve.” In the United States alone, yearly costs of suicide and suicide attempts are comprised in 50-100 billion dollars.
The United Nations issued “National Policy for Suicide Prevention” in the 1990s, which some countries also use as a basis for their assisted suicide policies. Nevertheless, the UN noted that suicide bombers’ deaths are seen as secondary to their goal of killing other people or specific targets and the bombers are not otherwise typical of people committing suicide.
According to a 2006 WHO press release, one-third of worldwide suicides were committed with pesticides, “some of which were forbidden by United Nations (UN) conventions.” WHO urged the highly populated Asian countries to restrict pesticides that are commonly used in failed attempts, especially organophosphate-based pesticides that are banned by international conventions but still made in and exported by some Asian countries. WHO reports an increase in pesticide suicides in other Asian countries as well as Central and South America. It is estimated that such painful failed attempts could be reduced by legalising controlled voluntary euthanasia options, as implemented in Switzerland.
As of 2017, it is estimated that around 30% of global suicides are still due to pesticide self-poisoning, most of which occur in rural agricultural areas in low- and middle-income countries (consisting in about 80% world population). In high-income countries consisting of the remaining 20% world population most common methods are firearms, hanging and other self-poisoning.
European and American societies report a higher male mortality by suicide than any other, while various Asian a much lower. According to most recent data provided by WHO, about 40,000 females of the global three hundred thousand female suicides and 150,000 males of the global half million male suicides, deliberately take their own life every year in Europe and the Americas (consisting of about 30% of the world’s population). As of 2015, apart from a few South and East Asian countries home to twenty percent of world population, Morocco, Lesotho, and two Caribbean countries, because of changing gender roles suicide rates are globally higher among men than women.
Even though women are more prone to suicidal thoughts than men, rates of suicide are higher among men. On average, there are about three male suicides for every female one – though in parts of Asia, the ratio is much narrower.
The disparity in suicide rates has been partly explained by the use of more lethal means and the experience of more aggression and higher intent to die, when suicidal, in men than women.
There are many potential reasons for different suicide rates in men and women: gender equality issues, differences in socially acceptable methods of dealing with stress and conflict for men and women, availability of and preference for different means of suicide, availability and patterns of alcohol consumption, and differences in care-seeking rates for mental disorders between men and women. The very wide range in the sex ratios for suicide suggests that the relative importance of these different reasons varies greatly by country and region.
In western countries men are about 300% or thrice as likely to die by suicide than females, while a few countries (counting over a hundred million residents overall) exceed the 600% figure. Most considerable difference in male–female suicide ratios is noted in countries of the former Soviet Bloc and in some of Latin America.
Globally, in 2015 women had higher suicide rates in eight countries. In China (almost a fifth of world population) women were up to 30% more likely than men to commit suicide and up to 60% in some other South Asian countries: overall South Asian (including South-Eastern Asia, a third of world population) age-adjusted ratio however, was around global average of 1.7:1 (men being around 70% more likely than women to die by suicide).
Some suicide reduction strategies do not recognize the separate needs of males and females. Researchers have recommended aggressive long-term treatments and follow up for males that show indications of suicidal thoughts. Studies have also found that because young females are at a higher risk of attempting suicide, policies tailored towards this demographic are most effective at reducing overall rates.
Shifting cultural attitudes about gender roles and social norms, and especially ideas about masculinity, may also contribute to closing the gender gap: social status and working roles are assumed to be crucial for men’s identity.
Mental Health Matters 
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