Data gathered and collated by the National Police Headquarters in Jakarta report that the Province of Bali had the highest number of suicide cases in 2023, totaling 135 reported deaths by suicide. This translates into a suicide rate of 3.07 people per 100,000 residents on the Island of Bali.
The Provincial Secretary, Dewa Made Indra, said the Bali Administration is trying to reduce suicide rates and is actively exploring the root causes of self-murder on the Island by seeking input from mental health professionals and others.
Quoted by Radarbali.id, Indra, speaking on Monday, 01 July 2024, said: “There are a variety of complicated personal reasons why people commit suicide. Generally, what’s needed are solutions other than suicide to these personal problems.”
Continuing, Indra said many people who commit suicide are introverts by nature. He called on families to act as the front line in suicide prevention. Families can be supported in preventing suicide by psychologists, psychiatrists, and religious leaders.
The Provincial Secretary underlined that religious leaders have a unique role to play in educating the public that suicide is not a solution to any personal problem and there are always better alternatives that do not involve death.
Dewa Indra did not dismiss the possibility of free-of-charge psychological consultation for the public contemplating suicide. The main problem, he admitted, is identifying those who need therapy and mental health care.
Bali also operates a mental health hospital able to treat people manifesting suicidal tendencies.
“This needs the involvement of all parties. In universities, psychologists and psychiatrists must join the effort. Religious organizations must also play separate and important roles,” explained Dewa Indra.
Dewa Indra admitted that the government does not have a specific, coordinated program to prevent suicides, but he did invite everyone to work together to avoid these unnecessary deaths. He said that a coordinated program should be established at the earliest opportunity.
Bali was recently shaken by news of two orphan siblings who committed suicide by leaping from the Tukan Bangkung Bridge in Pelaga, Pertang, on 26 May 2024. Authorities speculated the two took their lives because they were burdened by debt.
The Police in Bali confirm that Bali has the highest average suicide rate per 100,000 residents in Indonesia at 3.07. This is followed in descending order by Yogyakarta (1.58); Bengkulu (1.53); Central Java (1.21); and North Sulawesi (0.90).
As a national average, Indonesia’s suicide rate per 100,000 is 2.4.
Bali’s suicide rate is 27% higher than the national average,
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