Inequality and suicide

People living in the most disadvantaged communities face the highest risk of dying by suicide. We worked with leading academics to understand why.

Our report, Dying from Inequality, showed that financial instability and poverty can increase suicide risk. Suicide is a major inequality issue.

We found that income and unmanageable debt, unemployment, poor housing conditions, and other socioeconomic factors all contribute to high suicide rates.

Tackling inequality should be central to suicide prevention and support should be targeted to the poorest groups who are likely to need it most.

We can all play a part in preventing suicide and reducing inequality, but governments must take the lead by:

• Ensuring national suicide prevention strategies target their efforts to the most vulnerable people and places, to reach people at the highest risk and reduce health inequalities.
• Embedding suicide prevention across government policy, specifically housing, welfare and economic planning, to improve support for the most vulnerable people.
• Supporting suicide awareness training programmes for frontline services that support people with financial issues. This would ensure practitioners have the skills they need to recognise, understand and respond to individuals who may be in distress.

Read more in our report Dying from Inequality.