Calls to Spanish helpline from children with suicidal thoughts increases by 3,300%

In 1994, the ANAR foundation set up a helpline (900 20 20 10) for young people to talk about their problems, and for the first time in these three decades, suicidal behaviour is at the top of the list of reasons for calls

J. A. G.

Madrid

Friday, 12 May 2023, 16:56

Calls from children with suicidal thoughts have soared and a Spanish helpline number set up for young people has been inundated with these concerning calls.

Almost 30 years ago, in 1994, the ANAR foundation set up a helpline (900 20 20 10) for young people to talk about their problems, and for the first time in these three decades, suicidal behaviour is at the top of the list of reasons for these calls.

According to ANAR's annual report for 2022 presented on Wednesday, 11 May, calls from children and adolescents with suicidal thoughts have multiplied by 35 in the past decade, a growth of 3,376% compared to the rate ten years ago.

For the first time since the helpline was established, mental health problems outnumbered violence against minors.

Last year alone ANAR received almost 8,000 calls related to suicidal ideation and suicide attempts, an average of 22 calls per day. In 4,554 of these cases "ANAR saved the lives of children and adolescents", the foundation's directors pointed out in the report.

Suicidal behaviour is followed by episodes of self-harm, which have multiplied by 45 in ten years, from 71 in 2012 to 3,243 in 2022.

"These cases are a phenomenon closely related to suicide attempts, due to the high probability of a fatal outcome when children and adolescents change procedure," ANAR said.

Calls related to anxiety, depression and eating disorders in minors, problems of low self-esteem, and obsessions with self-image also stood out.

Technical director of programmes and spokesperson for the ANAR foundation Benjamín Ballesteros said suicidal behaviour is a "real tsunami that we cannot yet measure because it is growing every year".

He believed the increase in calls about suicidal thoughts "is directly related to loneliness, the use of technology and how suicidal behaviour is being reported, because the way suicide is communicated can help prevent it or, on the contrary, can lead to a greater risk of causing a contagion effect".

Gender violence is on the rise

Despite mental health issues surpassing calls about violence for the first time, these incidents have not decreased and are still the main reason among adults who phone the helpline (in six out of ten consultations).

Director of ANAR helplines Diana Díaz said: "minors do not have the capacity to ask for help and we adults must be the ones to be alert, detect the signs of danger and give a referral at the slightest suspicion of risk".

According to the ANAR report, gender violence has been growing steadily for thirteen years, multiplying by 16, with 3,471 registered cases.

It is typically against adolescent girls, but almost half of them are not aware of the problem; "that is, they do not admit to being victims of this type of violence", ANAR psychologists said.

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