The AJC- “CDC: Women show biggest rise in suicide” Original Article published Thursday 6.14.2018
Blog written by Andrea K. Winters
Date: 8.14.2018
Suicide rates are rising in the U.S., especially among women. Or so says the latest report from the CDC. Stunningly suicide rates have “increased in women in Georgia by 30% from 2000 to 2016”, denotes a recent release from the CDC, and “50% nationally”. Historically, women have died from suicide attempts at a much lower rate than men… what has changed? Scientists have theories but do not know exactly why this is happening. Some scientists theorize that societal pressures paired with mental health disorders are a very real catalyst for suicide, especially for women. According to national trends, women are increasingly bearing the financial burden of supporting a household, and usually need multiple jobs to do so – an increase in burden could be a major factor in this increase in suicide. The past two decades have seen the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. For both men and women, stagnant wages, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the opioid crisis, and troubles with access to public healthcare. All of these factors play a huge role in women’s lives and mental health as they are usually the social supporters who take on the emotions going on around them. Other factors that may be leading to this increase include a lack of resources such as funding for suicide research in the U.S. and a lack of public healthcare for all. According to some, there is hope to slowing this down before it becomes a crisis by raising awareness, allowing women safe access to resources for mental health, and supporting individuals as needed is key to stopping this epidemic.
