Group set up for suicide victims' families

Taiwan has an average of more than 4,000 deaths from suicides every year and if each victim has around six family members and friends, a total of 24,000 people would be suffering from mental trauma, Lee Ming-bin, the TSPC's president said at a press conference to announce the establishment of the support group in Taipei.

“It's not enough to just offer help to people who attempt to commit suicide, it is also important to pay attention to these people's family and friends since they have had to deal with so much emotional distress,” he said.

President Ma Ying-jeou and Minister of Health Yaung Chih-liang also attended the event to promote the importance of preventing suicides and helping victims' families and friends ahead of World Suicide Prevention Day on Sept. 10.

The center has cooperated with the associations of doctors, lawyers, accountants and architects to provide free counseling to families and friends to help them deal with legal issues, as well as financial and funeral matters, Lee said.

The support group will mainly employ the methods of one-to-one counseling or group therapy, Lee said, adding that a complete network for survivors will eventually be established to help them share information and assist each other.

President Ma acknowledged the achievement of the center, saying that although the number of suicides was originally expected to grow this year — one year after Typhoon Morakot hit Taiwan and killed nearly 700 people last August — it has actually decreased by 250 deaths in the first half of this year, compared to the same period in 2009.

Ma attributed the lower suicide rate to the increase in domestic demand that has created more jobs and helped bridge the wealth gap in Taiwan.

According to Ma, Taiwan's suicide mortality rate has tripled in the past 12 years, rising from 1,451 deaths in 1994 to 4,406 in 2006 — the highest number in Taiwan's history.

Suicides have been among the top-10 causes of death in Taiwan for the last 13 consecutive years, the center said.

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