In recent years, the number of men in Serbia who have died from suicide is three to four times higher than that of women, announced the ‘Don’t Watch! React!’ initiative on the occasion of International Men’s Day, November 19th.
Every fourth second, one person commits suicide, while every second someone tries to kill themselves, according to the results of research by the World Health Organization (WHO). In terms of Serbia, which ranks 13th in terms of the number of suicides in the world, data from the State Statistics Office show that more than 1,300 people die by suicide annually.
Both genders are victims of patriarchy
It is more likely that men will resort to alcohol to cope with life’s challenges, as well as to die as a result of the abuse of alcohol or psychoactive substances, according to the research.
The research goes on to say that patriarchy is also detrimental to men, as well as to women, because it commands them to be “strong” at all times, not to show emotions and fear and to constantly compete and dominate, which exerts huge pressure on men.
Our culture is hostile to men who show their emotions and step out of the defined box of how a man is supposed to act, especially if those emotions are perceived as “soft” or “weak”, the Initiative said.
Persons between the ages of 50 and 70 make up the majority of suicide victims. When it comes to women, housewives and pensioners are most likely to commit suicide while the majority of men who commit suicide are pensioners, workers and farmers.
Femicide followed by suicide
Also, 25 femicides took place last year – eight of which were followed by the killer’s suicide and six by attempted suicide.
In 2021, 26 femicides occurred, five of which were followed by the killer’s suicide, while in 2020, out of a total of 29 femicides, 10 were followed by the killer’s suicide.
(Vreme, 19.11.2023)
https://www.vreme.com/vesti/srbija-13-na-svetu-po-broju-samoubistava/
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