SAVE OUR YOUNG WOMEN

Suicide rates among women under 24 have shown their steepest rise ever - what can we do to change this?

- VERONIQUE HAWKSWORTH

It’s no secret that our teens and young people today seem to be under more pressure than ever before. The pandemic and subsequent lockdowns take some of the blame for damaging mental wellbeing, and with school, college and university life disrupted, many young people were disproportionately affected. Social media plays a huge part in mental health and wellbeing too, and 68% of teen girls with depression admit to feeling addicted to TikTok – a platform accused of pushing content relating to self-harm, eating disorders and suicide.

Suicide rates in young women are surging at the fastest rate since records began. Over 200 schoolchildren lose their lives to suicide in the UK every year, and with mental-health services overwhelmed, young people are feeling the pressure. So what can be done to help young people and stop them from reaching a place of such desperation?

We investigate and speak to a mum whose daughter tragically took her own life…

‘I didn’t realise she’d reached crisis point’

Annie Arkwright, 52, lives in Shropshire. She lost her daughter Lily to suicide in 2020. When Lily set off to study

history at Cardiff University in 2019, I couldn’t have been prouder. Bright, sociable and conscientious, there was no doubt in my mind that she would thrive. Living in uni halls, she had no problem making friends, and breezed through her first year. When she visited me at home in Shropshire, I couldn’t wait to hear about everything she’d been up to, and we’d chat away on long walks in the countryside with our dog.