World Suicide Prevention Day is celebrated annually on September 10. This date reinforces the importance of mental health care and suicide prevention. The date is organized by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) and has support from the World Health Organization (WHO).
The suicide It is a complex reality that involves different factors. Promoting information and awareness on the topic is one of the main objectives of campaigns such as Yellow September, related to World Suicide Prevention Day.
Read too: December 10th — International Human Rights Day
Topics in this article
- 1 - Summary of World Suicide Prevention Day
- 2 - Origin of World Suicide Prevention Day
- 3 - Objectives of World Suicide Prevention Day
- 4 - Why is September Suicide Prevention Month?
- 5 - Yellow September
- 6 - Data on suicide in the world
- 7 - Data on suicide in Brazil
- 8 - How to prevent suicide?
- 9 - Life Valorization Center (CVV)
Summary on World Suicide Prevention Day
World Suicide Prevention Day is celebrated annually on September 10th.
The date was created by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (Iasp) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2003.
The story of Mike Emme, who committed suicide in 1994, is associated with World Suicide Prevention Day and the Yellow September campaign.
September is recognized as suicide prevention month, due to World Suicide Prevention Day and the Yellow September campaign.
Yellow September is a campaign created in 2014 by the Brazilian Psychiatric Association (ABI) with support from the Federal Council of Medicine (CFM).
Several awareness-raising and information-sharing actions about the importance of suicide prevention and mental health care are developed in Yellow September.
Origin of World Suicide Prevention Day
World Suicide Prevention Day was created in 2003 by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) and by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The story of young American Mike Emme is associated with World Suicide Prevention Day, as well as the Yellow September campaign. In 1994, at the age of 17, Mike Emme committed suicide. He was very skilled at practical activities, such as car mechanics, and had restored a '68 Mustang, painting it yellow. The car became known as the Mustang Mike.
At his wake, several cards reading “If you need help, ask for help” were decorated with yellow ribbons. and distributed among people. Mike's story became well known and strengthened suicide prevention movements around the world. The symbol of this fight, the yellow ribbon, is also associated with the narrative.
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Objectives of World Suicide Prevention Day
Among the objectives of World Suicide Prevention Day are:
Raising awareness about suicide prevention at a global level.
Carrying out actions that focus on suicide prevention.
Training health professionals to deal with aspects related to the reality of suicide risk factors.
Production of booklets and informative materials on the importance of mental health care and suicide prevention.
Why is September Suicide Prevention Month?
September is considered suicide prevention month because World Suicide Prevention Day is celebrated on September 10. This month the Yellow September campaign takes place in Brazil, which encourages discussions about mental health and suicide prevention.
Bill 5,062/2020 provides for the definition of September as National Suicide Prevention Month in Brazil.
Yellow September
Yellow September is thecampaign national suicide prevention held annually in Brazil. It was created in 2014 by the Brazilian Psychiatric Association (ABP) with the Federal Council of Medicine (CFM).
To develop the Yellow September campaign, ABP forms partnerships with public institutions and companies. The association annually shares guidelines for publicizing and participating in the campaign.
Among the Yellow September actions are:
In-person and online events with lectures and conversation circles.
Yellow lighting of public spaces and monuments as a way of alerting the campaign.
Provision of digital information booklets.
Availability for the press to talk about the campaign.
Far-reaching educational campaigns such as Yellow September contribute to promoting citizenship and expanding connections of a society, points out Alaor Carlos de Oliveira Neto, coordinator of the Psychiatry Service at Hospital Alemão Oswaldo Cross. Oliveira Neto emphasizes that it is essential to “deliver efficient tools to confront society with a public health problem”. To learn more about Yellow September, click here.
Data on suicide around the world
Check out some data released by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) regarding suicide in the world:
700 thousand cases of suicide are recorded annually around the world. If we take into account underreported cases, it is estimated that there are 1 million cases.
Suicide continues to be one of the main causes of death in the world and causes more victims than breast cancer, malaria or AIDS.
Among young people aged 15 to 29, suicide was the fourth cause of death behind traffic accidents, tuberculosis and interpersonal violence.
In 2019, 97,339 people died by suicide in the countries of the Americas.
Data on suicide in Brazil
Check out some data released by the World Health Organization (WHO), Brazilian Association of Psychiatry (ABP) and Health Surveillance Secretariat of the Ministry of Health regarding suicide in Brazil:
In Brazil, around 14 thousand cases of suicide are recorded each year. This represents 38 victims each day.
49.3% increase in mortality rates for adolescents aged 15 to 19 between 2016 and 2021.
The death rate for people aged 15 to 19 due to suicide is 6.6 per 100 thousand; between 10 and 14 years old, it is 1.33 per 100 thousand.
Brazil is eighth among the countries that record the most deaths by suicide.
Between 2010 and 2019, there were 112,230 deaths by suicide.
How to prevent suicide?
Suicide can be prevented in different ways depending on the levels of action. This process occurs from the service network of health professionals to individualized support for each case, says doctor Alaor Carlos de Oliveira Neto, coordinator of the Psychiatry Service at Hospital Alemão Oswaldo Cross. Check out ways to prevent suicide, shared by professionals:
Encourage, promote and participate in health promotion spaces in the community, such as holding self-help groups in schools, associations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the like.
Control access to common methods of suicide attempts, such as carbamate (chumbinho), pesticides, rodenticides. Restrict access to firearms.
Have encouragement from the bodies responsible for smart urban constructions and city planning with security measures.
Constructive and strategic use of the media for preventive campaigns and greater regulation of broadcasting in cases of attempts — avoid detailed descriptions of the method used, as well as facts and scenes shocking.
Campaigns in schools and citizenship training centers that discuss the issue in order to deconstruct taboos and facilitate prevention.
In relation to each specific case, in which there is a risk of suicide, among the important measures indicated by Oliveira Neto are:
Treat the issue seriously. Don't mock or deny someone's suffering. Ask directly if there is a desire to kill yourself if suspected.
Have a welcoming and non-judgmental attitude, ask questions about the plan, the reasons and the consequences.
Offer help if you think there is space and need.
Help this person to have their first contact with a health service, public or private.
Life Valuation Center (CVV)
The Life Valorization Center (CVV) is a support platform that, in partnership as Unified Health System (SUS), provides emotional support and suicide prevention services. The CVV service is provided free of charge to all people who want and need to talk in complete confidentiality. Dial 188 to contact CVV. The center also provides services through the website (chat), which you can access by clicking here, and through in-person service stations, which you can locate by clicking here.
Image credits
[1]Jeanedeoliveira22 / Shutterstock
[2]Fernando Frazão / Agência Brasil (reproduction)
Sources
Yellow September Campaign. The Yellow September campaign saves lives. Brazilian Psychiatric Association - Federal Council of Medicine, [n.d.]. Available in: https://www.setembroamarelo.com/.
Yellow September Campaign.Suicidal behavior: know to prevent. Brazilian Psychiatric Association - Federal Council of Medicine, [n.d.]. Available in: https://www.setembroamarelo.com/_files/ugd/e0f082_a44f70d6665647ea9ecf0631cc82b142.pdf.
World Health Organization. Suicide Report in the World in 2019. World Health Organization, 2021. Available in: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240026643.
Pan American Health Organization. World Suicide Prevention Day. Pan American Health Organization, 2022. Available in: https://www.paho.org/pt/campanhas/dia-mundial-prevencao-ao-suicidio-2022.
Court of Justice of the Federal District and Territories.Yellow September: suicide prevention month. Court of Justice of the Federal District and Territories, 2019. Available in: https://www.tjdft.jus.br/informacoes/programas-projetos-e-acoes/pro-vida/dicas-de-saude/pilulas-de-saude/setembro-amarelo-mes-da-prevencao-do-suicidio.
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
AFONSO, Lucas. "September 10 — World Suicide Prevention Day"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/datas-comemorativas/10-de-setembro-dia-mundial-de-prevencao-ao-suicidio.htm. Accessed September 10, 2023.
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Check the conjugation of the verb effect in all possible verb tenses.
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