The World Health Organization’s report on suicide: A fundamental step in worldwide suicide prevention

Suicide takes a high toll. Over 800,000 people die due to suicide every year and there are indications that for each individual who died of suicide there may have been more than 20 others attempting suicide. Notably, suicide is the second leading cause of death in 15– 29-year-olds (World Health Organization [WHO], 2014a); for young girls, 15– 19 years old, it is the fi rst leading cause of death globally (WHO, 2014b). All those individuals have loved ones, and communities they live in, who are impacted by both suicides and suicide  attempts. This means that millions of people are affected – a far greater number than those who die due to suicide (Pitman, Osborn, King, & Erlangsen, 2014).