Recession Suicide Fears

Labour MP Madeleine Moon last month spoke of how she feared suicide and self-harm could affect the recession as more people face job cuts, pay freezes, and even losing their homes.

She claimed that due to the current economic climate there was an “increased risk” of harm as more incidents were down to fears people had about losing their jobs.

This is not the first time these fears have been realised. Care Services Minister Paul Burstow said statistics pointed to a six per cent rise in suicides between 2007 and 2008 when Britain was in recession. He said long-term unemployment had a “hugely corrosive” effect on mental health and those out of work for an extended period were 35 times more likely to commit suicide than someone in a stable job.

“The sad legacy of the last decade has been a huge rise in the number of people trapped on benefits, with all the damage this does to a person's self-esteem and self-worth.”

Almost 500,000 public sector jobs are due to be lost and Mr Burstow adds, “We are committed to mend the psychological as well as economic scars of the past recession to improve mental health services, promote greater community resilience and mental health and to do much more to help unemployed people regain their confidence and return to work”.

Uncovered would like to know the maths behind the last two statements as unfortunately they do not seem to add up.

Published in Uncovered Magazine December 2010 issue 2

 

 

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