Suicides increase in Scotland as more cases involve women

The number of probable suicides in Scotland has risen as more women took their own lives.

New figures from National Records of Scotland show there were 762 probable suicides in 2022, an increase of nine on the previous year.

The rate of suicide for men remains higher than that for women. However, female suicides increased by 18 to 206 over the period, while cases involving men reduced by nine to 556.

There was a variation in the suicide rate across regions, with Highland, Dundee City, East Ayrshire and Perth and Kinross council areas all recording more cases than the Scottish average and statisticians say worse-off areas remain most affected by suicides.

Comparable 2022 data for the rest of the UK is yet to be published. However, based on 2021 figures, Scotland had the second highest rate of suicide deaths of all countries in the UK, with only Northern Ireland recording a worse figure.

Daniel Burns, head of vital events statistics at NRS, commented: "While today's statistics show a small increase in the number of suicide deaths, the rate of mortality in the last number of years has been fairly steady.

The longer term trend shows that over the last 30 years the rate of suicides for males is around three times as high as the female rate.

"Over the last two decades the average age of death has increased, from a low of 41.9 years in 2000 to 48.2 years in 2022.

"The figures also show that the rate of suicide in the most deprived areas in Scotland was 2.6 times as high as in the least deprived areas in Scotland."

Mental wellbeing minister Maree Todd expressed her "heartfelt sympathies and deepest condolences" to the families affected and said the Scottish Government and partners are working to roll out specialist support, following pilot schemes in Highland and Ayrshire & Arran.

She went on: "Every suicide is a tragedy with a far-reaching impact on family, friends and the wider community. Our aim is for any child, young person or adult who has thoughts of taking their own life, or are affected by suicide, to get the help they need and feel a sense of hope. Our ambitious suicide prevention strategy is underpinned by significant investment of £2.5m in 2023-24 and a commitment to double suicide prevention annual funding to £2.8m by 2026."

Todd continued: "The Scottish Government is working with all key national and local partners to ensure that people with urgent mental health care needs get the right help, in the right place, at the right time no matter where they live. Our joint suicide prevention strategy with Cosla, Creating Hope Together, sets out our plan to reduce the number of suicides whilst also tackling the inequalities which contribute to suicide.

“The strategy is supported by a three-year action plan. A key priority is to create more high-quality peer support groups for people affected by suicide to support their recovery, which complements the support that is available from services. Our other priorities include, continuing to improve the support people receive when in suicidal crisis using the Time, Space Compassion approach, building tailored support for children and young people, tackling stigma and raising awareness about suicide, and focussing on key settings with higher risk of suicide."

Mental health support is available from GPs and NHS 24’s Mental Health Hub on the short code 111.