World Suicide Prevention Day 2011 - international

This article has been archived and may contain outdated information.

On Saturday the 10th of September 2011 the World Suicide Prevention Day is held throughout the world.

This year's theme Preventing Suicide in Multicultural Societies. The theme aims at raising awareness of the fact that all countries in the world are multicultural. Many countries harbour different minority groups in the form of various indigenous and/or immigrant groups, refugees and/or asylum seekers. Some countries also comprise many different ethnic groups due to artificial borders having been drawn by former colonial powers. This means that in all countries there are a variety of ethnic and religious groups living in the same society.

National suicide prevention strategies have now been implemented in several countries, but not all of them reflect the fact that the country is multicultural. The strategy/program is often aimed at a majority population, and a specific cultural perspective or focus is missing. Strategies therefore may need revision with this in mind and countries still not having initiated suicide prevention efforts should integrate a cultural perspective from the start.

Suicide prevention in multicultural societies requires cultural sensitivity as well as cultural competence, and needs to be targeted multidisciplinary.

More information is available in The World Suicide Prevention Day brochure.

NB - In Denmark the World Suicide Prevention Day-conference is held on Friday the 9th of September