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China sees more female than male suicides per annum

Suicide is a leading cause of death for Chinese women, and China is the only country in which the suicide rate for females is higher than for males.

According to Qinghua sociology professor Jing Jun, the suicide rate in China's countryside is three times higher than in big cities, while the suicide rate among women in China is 25 percent higher than the male suicide rate. Suicide is the leading cause of death for the 15-34 age group. Jing said many survivors of suicide attempts whom he has interviewed didn't want to die but had acted in a moment of passion.

Around 90 percent of suicides and attempted suicides in Western countries involve some kind of mental health problem, while in China, only 60 percent do.

Liao Tianqi, deputy publisher of the U.S.-based Chinese-language online magazine "Observe China" said growing social problems were putting an additional mental strain on women.

Rural suicides more common than those in the city. Stress and depression are the cause of up to 80 percent of the suicide attempts.

More than 287,000 people end their own lives in China each year.

China has the highest rate of female suicide in the world, with most women who decide to end their own lives coming from less well-educated rural backgrounds. The most common means they use to end their lives is the swallowing of pesticides. The social factor may be due to the status of women. Economically, rural women are still not quite independent and do not have economic power. Family violence is also a cause in many cases.

A blog at globalvoicesonline.org cites "They may not bind their feet any more but many women, especially in the countryside, still endure what amounts to nothing less than torture."

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), suicide accounted for 85 percent of violent deaths in the Western Pacific region in 2000, far higher than the number of homicides. In Sri Lanka, where the suicide rate is the highest in the world, 55 out of every 10,000 people take their own lives.

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