The number of suspected student suicides in Hong Kong has reached a 10-year high, with the Education Bureau receiving 31 reports in the first 11 months of 2023. The figure came as local health authorities revealed that more than 1,800 Hongkongers under the age of 18 had been diagnosed with depression at public healthcare facilities in 2022-23.
Primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong had reported 31 suspected student suicides as of November 30, Secretary for Education Christine Choi told the Legislative Council on Wednesday while responding to a lawmaker’s questions on students’ mental health.
Suicide-prevention groups in Hong Kong have raised concerns that youth suicide was on the rise since the school year began in September.
According to figures obtained by HKFP from the Education Bureau, the number of suspected student suicides reported so far this year has surpassed annual figures since 2013. Schools reported 25 suspected suicides in 2021, four more than in the previous year. The figure remained the same in 2022.
The suicides reported to the Education Bureau did not include university students who took their own lives.
The government previously cited “greater challenges” faced by students after the full resumption of classes following the Covid-19 pandemic as among the factors contributing to the trend.
The Samaritan Befrienders Hong Kong said last month that Hong Kong’s return to normalcy after years of stringent Covid-19 mandates and an unreasonable level of academic pressure in some schools could be behind the upsurge.
In a separate reply to a lawmaker’s questions about treatment for depression on the city’s public health care system, Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau said that about 1,810 psychiatric patients diagnosed with depression in hospitals and clinics managed by the Hospital Authority were below the age of 18.
According to Lo, the government did not maintain statistics on whether young people who died by suicide also suffered from depression. The minister pointed to international and local studies and said suicide was a complex problem caused by the interaction of multiple risk and protective factors.
“The government would review cases of youth suicide this year to understand the underlying factors, including the involvement of mental health issues,” Lo wrote.
The Hospital Authority had been closely monitoring the level of services provided to young patients with depression to ensure their needs were met, the health chief wrote. It included keeping the median waiting time at specialist out-patient clinics for urgent new cases at no longer than a week, while new semi-urgent cases would receive consultation within four weeks.
Health authorities would enhance nursing manpower for psychiatric services and allied health support, Lo pledged.
As of December 2022, Hong Kong has 3,704 psychiatric registered nurses who are qualified to handle patients independently, according to figures from the Nursing Council of Hong Kong. The number of enrolled nurses for psychiatric services, who must work under the supervision of registered nurses, stood at 1,701.
| 💡If you are in need of support, please call: The Samaritans 2896 0000 (24-hour, multilingual), Suicide Prevention Centre 2382 0000 or the government mental health hotline on 18111. The Hong Kong Society of Counselling and Psychology provides a WhatsApp hotline in English and Chinese: 6218 1084. See also: HKFP’s comprehensive guide to mental health services in Hong Kong. |
Support HKFP | Policies & Ethics | Error/typo? | Contact Us | Newsletter | Transparency & Annual Report | Apps
Help safeguard press freedom & keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team
LATEST FROM HKFP
HKFP has an impartial stance, transparent funding, and balanced coverage guided by an Ethics Code and Corrections Policy.
Support press freedom & help us surpass 1,000 monthly Patrons: 100% independent, governed by an ethics code & not-for-profit.
