Labour MP raises the epidemic of male suicide. Here's how Finland halved its rate.

This article contains discussion around suicide which some readers may find distressing

At Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs), Labour MP Jake Richards brought up the epidemic of male suicide. But one country has more than halved its suicide rate since the 1990s.

Male suicide: the “biggest killer”

Richards said:

Male suicide is a tragic epidemic in our country. Each week almost 100 men take their own lives. And suicide is the biggest killer of men aged under 50. In my constituency I’m working with Andy’s Man Club in Maltby, the Learning Community in Dinnington and Better Today in Kiveton Park to try and raise awareness about the fantastic groups who offer support for men in the most difficult circumstances. Will the prime minister use this opportunity to support the campaign that we are undertaking in my constituency and also reassure those groups and my constituents that mental health services for men will be a priority for his government?

While 25% of people in the UK (and the US and Canada) who die by suicide are women, 75% are men, showing there is a major male mentality or sex factor to the epidemic. 4,200 men die by suicide every year in the UK. One issue is that men are less likely to seek help for mental health issues, with a meta analysis showing 20% contacted mental health professionals in the year leading up to suicide compared to 35% of women.

In response at PMQs, Keir Starmer said:

Can I thank him for raising this crucial issue and across the house I know members will have their own personal and tragic experiences of suicide… We’ve launched a call for evidence on our men’s health strategy, which will improve men’s health in all parts of the country, including tackling devastatingly high suicide rates. We’re also investing 26 million pounds in new mental health crisis centers, funding talking therapies for 380,000 more people and recruiting 8,500 more mental health workers.

One issue with the current approach is private companies using mental health as an opportunity for profiteering. The public purse forks out £286,000 per year per person for mental health patients to have secure accommodation in private facilities, where they do not even receive therapy from specialists. You could buy someone an entire house for that amount. And Starmer is only increasing private provision of NHS services (by 20%), rather than investing properly in the public health service.

Finland has halved the suicide rate

Meanwhile, a country that has had remarkable success through halving its suicide rate is Finland. At the end of the last century, the country’s suicide rate was high at around 30 people per 100,000. Now it’s reduced that by more than half to around 13 per 100,000.

By contrast, the UK had its highest suicide rate in 2023 since 1999. The Finnish government launched a national strategy to carry out a comprehensive research project on the data surrounding suicide and educating healthcare workers through this. As part of this, the project taught the media to report on suicides in a neutral way, without glorifying or romanticising it.

It’s an instance of the Finnish government finding what the best data is and standardising that across the board, rather than competing private interests offering varied services. Starmer should take note.

Featured image via the House of Commons