‘Suicide rate in 2017 up by over 8 per cent’

AMMAN — Suicide cases in Jordan in 2017 increased by 8.33 per cent to 130 cases, compared to 120 in 2016, the Sisterhood Is Global Institute (SIGI) said on Monday, citing the 2017 Criminal Statistics Report.

Issued by the Criminal Information Department (CID), the report showed that the Kingdom registered 527 suicide cases between 2012 and 2016, involving 157 females and 370 males (29.8 and 70.2 per cent respectively).

In the first seven months of 2017, the number of suicides stood at 83, including 27 by females (32.5 per cent) and 56 by males (67.5 per cent), marking a rise in number of females who took their own lives.

Meanwhile, the Kingdom registered 2,182 suicide attempts between 2011 and 2016, with 1,357 among females and 825 among males.

The first seven months of 2017 witnessed 300 suicide attempts, 189 among females and 111 among males.

As for the reasons and motives for suicide cases, CID attributed them to “personal disputes”, “family disputes” and “psychological diseases”, while the reasons for suicide attempts were mainly focused on “family disputes” that contributed to some 47.1 per cent of suicide attempts among females and males.