Psychologist Heval Sarya Zengin stated that the suicide rate among young people aged 15-19 continues to rise, warning that suicides could turn into a social epidemic.
Speaking to ANF about the rising number of suicides, psychologist Heval Sarya Zengin from the Center for Socio-Political Field Research said, “We collected suicide data covering the years between 2000 and 2023. With this data, we see that the periods when suicides increased the most are actually related to economic crises. We also see that suicides peaked in 2021 and 2022, when social isolation was at its highest. These are the years when the crude suicide rate was highest both in Kurdish provinces and across Turkey as a whole. Therefore, we can include the economic crisis and poverty among the causes of suicide. We see that drug use has increased significantly in border provinces since 2015. One of the most important risk factors for suicide is alcohol and substance use.”
Turkish Statistical Institute does not provide data
Drawing attention to the prevalence of suicide cases among 15-19 year olds, Heval Sarya Zengin continued: “We see people in the same age group committing suicide one after another in very close neighborhoods. We saw this in Siverek. Here, we may be dealing with what we call the ‘Werther Effect,’ or we may be talking about an organization that has fallen into the same system and is forced to commit suicide. These are definitely questions in our minds. It is very difficult to speak definitively on this subject, because the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) does not provide us with data on this issue. When it comes to suicides, we are presented with “unknown” or “other reasons.” Because of this, we cannot understand the cause of a suicide and cannot implement preventive policies. As we mentioned, there is a serious drug problem among young people who commit suicide. In particular, not being able to integrate into society, having one’s identity ignored, and having weak ties to society explains what we call ‘egoistic’ suicide. We can see this especially among Kurdish youngsters. Another reason is economic uncertainty and poverty, as we can also see family discord in the cases of suicides among 15–19 year olds.”
There is serious social decay
Heval Sarya Zengin warned that suicide cases could turn into a social epidemic if not prevented, stating: “There is serious social decay. Currently, Diyarbakır is the only city in Turkey where suicides occur among the under-15 age group. There is widespread gang activity, peer bullying, sexual abuse, and subsequent blackmail. We witnessed an incident in Hakkari that illustrates this situation. We lack the moral values that hold us together. In particular, we are far from having an organizational consciousness. As long as individuals are left alone and isolated, an increase in suicides is a scenario we can expect. We need to develop policies to prevent suicide without wasting any more time.”