An analysis of self-harm and suicidal behavior among teens in Moldova shows that the normalization of abuse as a form of interaction with children is a major social obstacle. The report produced as part of the “Healthy Generation” Project was presented by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection on the occasion of the World Mental Health Day. It suggests a social, multi-professional and inter-sector approach to particular aspects of the mental health of young people, IPN reports.
Senior consultant Robert Thomson, expert in public health from Switzerland, said one of the objectives of the study was to analyze the states that led to particular crisis situations with which the authorities and the police tried to cope. There were family tragedies and new situations with which the experts haven’t met earlier, but analyzed the situation in the context of the efforts made by Moldova to ensure the protection of children, especially how this is done from the perspective of the need to realize the necessity of protecting teens.
Galina Leshko, head of the Resource Center “Neovita” of the “Youtih Klinic” network, said the risk of attempting suicide is bigger among teens from families where drugs are taken or alcohol is used or those that include convicted persons. A major risk factor for suicidal behavior in teens derives from the indifference of grownups or their psychological negligence in the family. Such events occur mainly in rural areas amid massive migration and abdomen of children in environments that are foreign to them.
Vladimir Odnostalco, chairman of the special parliamentary commission on cases of suicide, noted that the state reacted to the phenomenon of suicide among teens only when this exploded. “What happens to our children is the result of our activity. We created this problem and avoided it as long as we could and we, the grownups, didn’t create sufficient mechanisms to prevent it,” stated the MP.
The information for the report were collected by international experts Robert Thomson, senior consultant and expert in public health, and Ana Gurau-Stager, consultant and specialist in public policy, who are both from Switzerland, during June 26-30, 2017. The report was mandated by the public association “Youth Klinic Neovita” (“Health for Youth”) and was financed by the Swiss Cooperation Office in Moldova within the “Healthy Generation” Project.
