Three suicides in last few days

In the last few days at least three young people committed suicide in Malta, their age ranging from mid-20s to early 30s. Local media do not report suicides.

Dr Charlie Azzopardi, founding chairman of the Malta Institute of Family Therapy said on Facebook that it is difficult to establish how many people commit suicide every year in Malta and Gozo and he believes that the official statistics do not tell the whole story. “We are ignoring the causes that push people to commit suicide and say complacently that the rate is like in other countries and there is every little we can do to stop people killing themselves. I believe there is a lot to be done especially among 18 year olds to stop young people giving up, losing all hope and killing themselves.”

Zillah Bugeja posted this comment on Facebook: When you are sad enough to feel that there is no point in going on, when you are too weak to pull yourself out of sadness, when you lose faith in yourself, and most importantly when you think you are a burden to others.... You are lucky if you can find one small reason to keep going. Not everyone does. We really do need to become a more loving, caring and trusting nation.”

28 persons were recorded as having committed suicide in the first ten months of 2010, exactly twice as many as died from fatal traffic accidents.

The figure is higher than recorded figures for the whole of 2007. There were 26 suicides in Malta in 2007, according to World Health Organisation (WHO) statistics.

This probably still puts Malta towards the bottom of suicide rates among EU member states.

In 2006 MaltaMedia news reported that Malta had the third lowest suicide rate, according to Eurostat survey figures for 2001-2003. Suicide was less prevalent in citizens living in Southern European than in other parts of Europe, the survey found.

Between 2002 and 2011 there were 275 persons who committed suicide and whose case was reported to the police, an average of 23 persons every year.

Three of those who committed suicide in the last 12 years have been young people under the age of 18: a young man in 2002 and a young woman and man in 2004.

2009 has been the year with the highest number of suicides: 33, with last year coming a close second with 31. The lowest number of suicides, 15, was in 2002. This year till the end of October there were 19 suicides reported to the police.

Last July, Crisis Resolution Malta, a private network of professionals who help people in crisis, launched a national campaign on Facebook to install crisis lines next to suicide hot spots in Malta and Gozo. This network says that “In some places, there are already unofficial religious shrines, which do help. However a strategic campaign to install crisis lines will surely save lives and suffering as research abroad has shown. With adequate training, a crisis line volunteer can talk to someone who picks up the phone and is about to take his life. Crisis lines can indeed make the difference. Help can then be rushed to wherever that person is.”

Malta suicide hotlines:

Appogg Supportline 179 
Contact by: - Phone 
Hotline: 179
Website: appogg.gov.mt/supportline179.asp
24 Hour service: