Nunavut: Eleven year old’s suicide indicative of growing problem







An eleven year old boy has committed suicide in Repulse Bay, a community in Nunavut. There have been growing fears that Nunavut is currently in the middle of a suicide epidemic, and the tragic death of this young boy only adds to calls for politicians in the region to act, and make suicide prevention a priority, as well as support for mental health.

 

The former mayor of Iqaluit Madeleine Redfern released a statement on Twitter, following the death of the young boy and noted there are very few resources to assist family members of those who commit suicide.

 

[There are] "often no specialized support services to help families after a loved one commits suicide in Nunavut. Risks to some significantly increased."

 

The eleven year old’s suicide is not an isolated incident, as Nunatsiaq Online reports, in May a thirteen year old killed herself which preceded her grandmother killing herself. Soon after these two incidents, another teenage boy also committed suicide.

 

A study released this past June in conjunction with the RCMP and McGill University attempted to discover why the suicide rate is so high in Nunavut.

 

The study identified risk factors such as being: young, male, unemployed, single, and having low education. The study also found that physical and/or sexual abuse in childhood was a major risk factor for suicide, and “almost half” of those who had killed themselves had previously identified themselves as victims of this kind of abuse.

 

In 2009, Statistics Canada released an eye opening report about suicide in Nunavut. It found the average suicide rate was 65.1 suicides per every 100,000 people, this number is shocking when compared to the national average of 11.5 suicides.

 

The good news is, the provincial government in Nunavut implemented a suicide prevention plan in 2011 which focussed on education, and increasing awareness of mental health issues.

 

Unfortunately there has been criticism of the policy, with some saying there have been problems implementing it and getting resources to those who actually need it.

 

Time will tell if the prevention plan will work, until then Nunavut continues to have the unfortunate title of Highest Suicide Rate in Canada.  


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