Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Sharp rise in female suicides in Fiji

Posted at 05:56 on 20 November, 2012 UTC

Fiji police say women are increasingly taking drastic measures to solve relationship problems with their suicide rate increasing more than sevenfold.

38 women killed themselves this year compared to five last year, with a total of 105 people taking their own lives compared to 36 a year ago.

A police spokesperson Ana Naisoro says there has been a dramatic increase in the number of people attempting suicide.

She says more awareness is needed of services people can turn to for help if they feel isolated.

“The majority of the cases that we receive upon investigation they were just due to disputes that were happening within the family, romantic disputes, people facing somesort of financial problems and therefore they’ve been taking these drastic measures.”

Ana Naisoro says families also need to show understanding and have realistic expectations of young people as many suicides and attempts are linked to students stressed by examinations.