RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Minister of Women, Family, and Human Rights, Damares Alves, said that Brazil “is facing the chaos of a suicide epidemic”. According to her, the country will be astonished once it sees the updated figures on the issue.
Damares Alves pointed out that there is a trend of such occurrences among children. “We have records of six-year-olds in Brazil who have committed suicide. The youngest girl who spoke to me, who was going through self-mutilation and wanting to kill herself, was seven years old,” she said. Cases are also increasingly common among young people.
In an interview with journalist Roseann Kennedy, on the Impressões program, which was broadcast on Tuesday, August 6th at 11 PM on TV Brasil, the minister made an appeal: “All those who are engaging in self-mutilation and trying to kill themselves say that their souls are in pain. And we cannot underestimate this. Don’t underestimate and please don’t reproach. Don’t say “it’s all about getting attention, wanting to show off”. It’s not! This generation is in deep suffering. We must understand, learn what is causing this suffering. This generation does not know how to deal with conflict.”
The minister noted that, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the country is now eighth in the world ranking, but that the report is from a period that was underreported. “With the new legislation, enacted this year in Brazil, reporting suicide, attempted suicide and the outcome of the criminal investigation that certifies that the person chose their own death will be compulsory. Self-mutilation will also need to be recorded.”
Damares said the ministry has focused on the WHO guidelines to address the issue so that there is no risk of contagion. “We are going to have to review values, go to school, talk to parents, bring everyone into this debate. We have to be very cautious and sensitive to discuss this, to follow protocols. We need to start telling religious leaders that prayer is important, faith in this process is important, but we are also facing a question of mental health,” she alerted.
According to the minister, a partnership with the Brazilian Association of Psychiatry is already in place for health professionals to conduct tutorials for the ministry and to train journalists, bloggers, teachers, guardian counselors, and religious leaders.