There’s evidence that the epidemic in male suicide is being under-reported.

If true this is pretty shocking.

Fathers4Justice say that on average they are notified of three to four suicides a month.

They say male suicides are significantly under reported because of cultural and religious taboos, and because families do not want to be tainted by the shame of suicide, which leads many deaths to be incorrectly recorded as “accidental deaths” or “deaths by misadventure”.

Said F4J founder Matt O’Connor, “It’s interesting to note that it has taken the ONS and Samaritans two years to publicly say what Fathers4Justice said in 2015: that separated dads are three times more likely to die than other men and women.”

“We are in the midst of a suicide epidemic that is a national scandal. Based on our casework, we do not believe the tiny recorded drop in the suicide rate reflects the true numbers of fathers taking their lives. We believe the cases we see are the tip of the iceberg.”

“We remain deeply concerned about the impact of government policy on separated dads and their failure to properly assess or research the impact on this at risk group.”

“We call again for the government to appoint a Minister For Men and Boys to coordinate a response to this public health emergency.”