We must face up to adolescent suicide crisis

It is hugely alarming and distressing to learn of so many youngsters ending their lives since the start of school term. This is a time in their lives when they should be happy and full of hope for the future rather than killing themselves - or even contemplating doing so.

Organizations conducting research and providing assistance with a view to preventing suicides have revealed recently that there has been a spectacular increase in young people killing, or attempting to kill, themselves.

According to Samaritan Befrienders Hong Kong, 17 youngsters committed suicide between July and October. A further five attempted to do so but failed.

The NGO arrived at the alarming number based on incidents reported by the media - and it was roughly double the number for the same period a year ago.

Tragic as those numbers are, the casualty list increased by one on Sunday after a 14-year-old schoolboy was found hanging from a towel in the toilet of his Tsing Yi home where he lived with his grandfather.

I can only imagine how painful it must be for the boy's grandfather, who had been looking after the child since he was born and abandoned by his mother and passed to the old man by his son.

Every suicide case involves a unique story but there appear to be a number of common factors, including complicated family backgrounds, heavy school works, peer group pressure and troubled interpersonal relationships.

However, the University of Hong Kong's Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention director Paul Yip Siu-fai pointed to an unusual trend this year. [I use the word "trend" with the greatest reluctance.]

More adolescents - from junior schools to universities - have chosen to end their lives when there should have been more alternatives open to them.

Clearly, those trying their utmost to help save lives do have a consensus this time about this tragic trend.

After normal schooling resumed following Covid, many schools - and parents - have doubled the students' workload, hoping that increased class work and private tutorial sessions after school will help them catch up and make up for time lost during the pandemic.

The fact that some children returned to school only to discover that some familiar faces of teachers and classmates were no longer there due to emigration or other reasons also contributed to the stress and anxiety.

While it may be difficult for some adults to adjust from a work-from-home back to a work-in-office mode, the pressure on adolescents can be all the more obvious, both psychologically and physically.

Over the years, the media has exercised restraint in reporting suicides, especially those of young people, fearing that publicity could generate the so-called copycat effect among similar age groups.

But in light of the alarming increase in adolescent suicides, it is now crucial to use the loudest voice possible to draw attention to the crisis.

Those in need must be encouraged to open up and seek help and the authorities must pay close attention to the trend.

Keeping our collective head buried in the sand will not help Hong Kong solve this young people's crisis.