New committee in Mijas to focus on establishing protocols to prevent suicide

Mijas social services councillor María Francisca Alarcón chaired a meeting of the suicide prevention committee on Thursday, a new municipal body aimed at advancing and establishing prevention protocols, as well as highlighting the municipal support line. In addition to Alarcón, the meeting was attended by youth councillor Melisa Ceballos, a representative from the Las Lagunas health centre, members of the Afesol mental health association and the Local Police.

“It has been an initial meeting in which we have laid out the lines of work we want to focus on,” said Alarcón, who explained that other departments, such as health and senior citizens, will also be represented on this committee.

The plan is to continue working on the municipal suicide prevention plan, which will establish protocols and measures to prevent self-harming. Furthermore, special emphasis will be placed on young people, with workshops and talks planned to promote mental health in schools.

Data from the ministry of health shows that last year 3,846 people took their own lives and more than 75,000 attempted to do so. These figures translate to 11 suicides and over 200 attempts per day in Spain. Although the number has decreased considerably over the past two years, suicide records in Spain have reached their highest levels since 2020. Since 2008, suicide has become the leading cause of non-natural death in Spain, and 30 per cent of suicides in the country are men over the age of 65.