Hong Kong youth suicide on the rise since school began, NGO warns

The number of young Hongkongers taking their own lives has seen an “obvious increase” since school began in September, a NGO has warned.

The Samaritan Befrienders Hong Kong (SBHK), an organisation specialising in suicide prevention, said on Friday that 17 youths had died by suicide between July and October according to local media reports. A further five had attempted suicide.

In September and this month alone, 14 youths had attempted suicide, according to the organisation’s calculation.

“It’s a worrying situation,” Clarence Tsang, executive director of SBHK, said in Cantonese during a press conference to announce their findings.

Academic problems, relationship and family issues were prime reasons behind youth suicide, Tsang said, but he noted that teenagers faced a number of different stressors.

Among the 22 attempted suicides, 18 – or 82 per cent – chose to jump from height, Tsang said, adding that it was an alarming rate. That was the cause of death in around 50 per cent of all suicide cases.

“Jumping is a resolute method. It means they do not want to be saved,” he said.

The organisation’s Suicide Crisis Intervention Centre, which handles people with a mid to high suicide risk, had received calls from 51 youngsters seeking help between July and this month. The youngest was an eight year old troubled by a family issue, Tsang said.

Wai Choi-kei, who is in charge of the centre, added 32 of those calls had been received between September and this month – up 33 per cent from the same period last year. ChatPoint, an online chat service, had also seen a 52 per cent increase in adolescents reaching out.

The rise could be attributed to the city’s return to normalcy after years of stringent Covid-19 mandates and an unreasonable level of academic pressure in some schools, the pair said.

Students became accustomed to online learning during the pandemic, Wai told HKFP in Cantonese. “It was a major adjustment to resume face-to-face schooling… especially for those who also have to adapt [from primary] to secondary schools.”

Some schools and parents were determined to make up for “lost progress” during the pandemic as well, Wai added, referring to some cases of teenagers who told SBHK they felt overwhelmed by after-school tutorial classes.

“Young people already have less command over their lives… If their days are solely occupied by learning, their sense of powerlessness grows,” Tsang said.

The pair advised both schools and parents to take heed of adolescents’ needs, alleviate academic pressure, and not shy away from addressing their emotional and mental health needs. If they thought a youngster was experiencing suicidal ideation, they should actively seek professional intervention, Tsang and Wai said.

Rising suicide rate for youth

While Tsang on Friday cautioned about drawing a conclusion that youth suicide was on the rise before the coroner’s court published its annual numbers, there has been an upward trend in youth suicide over the past decade.

According to the annual Coroner’s Report, which summarises the yearly statistics of death in the city, 39 Hongkongers aged 19 or under died by suicide last year, up from 15 in 2013.

According to the statistics published by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, the suicide rate for the 15 to 24 age group also rose, with 12.2 deaths per 100,000 people, compared to 10.4 deaths in 2017 and 6.1 in 2014.

Tsang said it was worrying that a non-trivial proportion of suicidal youth also suffered from mental health issues. Among the 22 cases of attempted suicide counted by SBHK, four had a history of mental health issues.

A new hotline 2389 2227 which caters specifically youth experiencing suicidal ideation, was opened on Friday, Tsang said.

See also: HKFP’s comprehensive guide to mental health services in Hong Kong

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