Our thanks to Steve for this. It’s as if the government were congratulating itself on issuing free plasters for knife and gunshot wounds. As always, the explanation for the high suicide rate among men – the leading cause of death of men under 45, in all groups – is presented as men “struggling with mental health issues”. An extract:

The number of people who kill themselves has reduced over the last 25 years – more than halving among women but only gradually declining among men.

Men tend to suffer from fewer mental health issues than women, and I know of no evidence to suggest that women’s mental health has improved over the past 25 years (quite the opposite, in fact) – so with women’s suicides more than halving over the past 25 years, there is surely not as strong a causal link between mental health and suicide as the government suggests. Why does it keep suggesting that link? Because it largely absolves the state of responsibility for the problem.

The stark truth is that most male suicides can be directly or indirectly attributed to the actions and/or inactions of the state, as I outlined in my written submission to a Health Committee inquiry on suicide prevention in early 2017 – here. 114 individuals and organizations submitted responses.

Eight of the 11 members of the committee were women, including Sarah Wollaston, the chair. Predictably the final report was a complete whitewash – here.

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