Although there have been suicide interventions over the years in Botswana, the number of teenagers thinking and actually committing suicide has continued to increase. For twenty three year old *Tsholofelo, life has been difficult and fraught with challenges. At the tender age of sixteen, it was the sexual and verbal abuse she suffered at the hands of her uncle for two years that crippled her insides day in and day out. On Christmas Eve in 2021 while at her home village in Palapaye, *Tsholofelo saw no reason to continue living and no longer felt at home in her skin.
The grimacing memories of being treated like a sex object by her uncle walked like a shadow alongside her and inside her, pushing her to the brink of committing suicide as a means to end the agony. Fortunately, her cousin sister caught her while she was just about to drink a cocktail of poisons and managed to talk her out of it. Sadly, other teens across Botswana have not been so fortunate.
Across Botswana, stories of teenagers committing suicide are awash on social media sites such as Facebook. Nationally, rates of suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts, and self-harm have more than doubled, up from less than 0.5 percent in 2008 to 1.7 percent in 2018. The figure is believed to be much higher now since data from the Covid-19 pandemic has not been factored in.
Speaking to the Telegraph a while back, Thabang Kgosi who dedicates most of his time to raise awareness of mental health and challenges of mental health stigma said the Botswana must learn the early warning signs of diminished mental health and the steps needed to protect its citizens.
“I’m also calling for a national mental health strategy in response to Covid-19,” adding that “investing in mental health is the most essential investment Botswana can make now. By investing in people, we will also be saving millions of Pula in direct and indirect health care costs. For each person who suffers from a mental illness, each family and each community suffer as well”.
The trauma of the Covid-19 pandemic has heightened the people’s suffering leaving Batswana in despair, with an increasing amount of teens resorting to suicide as a last resort. Families as well as the youth are believed to be under more stress due to unemployment, job insecurity, financial stress, among other issues. In a worrying sign that more Batswana youth are struggling with depression and anxiety, various studies and researches show that there is a substantial upsurge in the number of teenagers and school-age children thinking of committing suicide or actually taking their own lives.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), suicide ranks as the second leading cause of death among people aged between 15 to 29 years and mainly occurs in low and middle income countries. It is also believed that more than 5% of Batswana are recorded to have mental illness problems.
“Although some countries have placed suicide prevention high on their agendas, too many countries remain uncommitted. Currently only 38 countries are known to have a national suicide prevention strategy. A significant acceleration in the reduction of suicides is needed to meet the SDG target of a one-third reduction in the global suicide rate by 2030,” says WHO.
In Botswana there still remains a marked gender split for suicide in Botswana. According to the World Population Review, the male suicide rate is four times higher than females in Botswana and the country has one of the highest suicide rates in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. With a suicide mortality rate of 16.1 per 100, 000 population, Botswana comes in third in the region.
The World Population Review states that the male suicide rate in Botswana is 26.3 while the female rate is 6.4.
A commentator who spoke to this publication on condition of anonymity indicated that an effective solution toward addressing mental health crisis in Botswana would involve funding a wide-ranging, equitable, and evidence-based resources and programs in schools to promote mental health, support students in crisis, and help prevent student suicides.
“Such a plan should take into account mental health evaluation, planning, programming, and suicide prevention strategies in our schools. There must also be training programs for students and school teachers to respond effectively to mental health challenges, and conduct mental health screenings,” he says.
Among other things, he said one of the greatest challenges schools in Botswana face is the total number of students who are in need of mental health services. “In order to address children’s mental health needs, there is need for sweeping prevention and intervention measures in schools and communities as a matter of urgency. This can be done through a change in policy,” he says.
Almost 800,000 people are believed to commit suicide every year in the world, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and this is why suicide prevention features in one of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. The Covid-19 pandemic has caused people emotional stress, which facilitates the occurrence of psychological issues. There is now substantial evidence that shows that the rates of hopelessness and suicide among Batswana are snowballing. From the loss of loved ones and caregivers, to economic uncertainty, to social isolation, this added stress has put a crushing weight on the shoulders of Batswana — and we are seeing the heart-breaking results before our very eyes.
Suicide in Botswana is an immensely complex issue with interwoven causes – and the very nature of a death by suicide means we can never fully know the reasons behind it. For immediate help if you are in a crisis, call the Botswana Suicide Hotline: 3911270. All calls are confidential.
