Mental Health Day paired with the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures are a stark reminder that too many men are losing their lives to suicide.
In 2024, 6,190 suicides were registered in England and Wales. The male suicide rate was 17.6 per 100,000, over three times higher than the rate per year for women.
Men aged 50–54 had the highest suicide rate, at 27.5 deaths per 100,000 each year. These figures are simply too high and surely - act as a momentous call for action?
These figures also encourage us to look beyond the headline statistics and consider whether different communities experience and respond to mental health challenges in different ways, including how and where they seek support.
For men in Asian communities in particular, mental ill-health can still be surrounded by taboo. In some families and communities, talking openly about anxiety, depression or suicidal thoughts can be incredibly difficult. There can be a fear of lasting consequences, perhaps embedded in cultural norms and societal pressures.
Whilst Asian men don’t appear to be overrepresented within the data on death by suicide, it remains a cause of death in young men which can be prevented, with the right support. Early findings and pockets of research from earlier studies suggest strongly that communities themselves hold an important part of the answer.
Collectively we are working towards understanding the different barriers that prevent people from accessing support. And these deeply worrying statistics are a stark reminder that this challenge affects men from all walks of life, and only by working together to identify and address those barriers can we begin to turn the tide.
The Randal Foundation has partnered with the Centre for Policy Research on Men and Boys (CPRMB) to reduce men’s suicide rates by10% over the next 5 years – hoping to leverage community-based programmes which have shown, locally in some areas that they can be effective, as part of the solution.
To date, no studies have considered these community resources collectively – or measured whether they can underpin suicide prevention. We’ve been ambitious in our study design - and we’re pursuing answers.
To get these answers, we’ve funded expert-led research to assess how community-based programmes play a role in benefitting men’s mental health. With these community sourced insights, we’re aiming to help both devise interventions and help shape policy that will be better equipped to support men's mental health outcomes, across the UK for years to come.
I am spending an increasing amount of time in Westminster, sitting on boards and working alongside policymakers, think tanks, sector leaders and politicians to translate evidence into action. By championing the practical, evidence-based research CPRMB is delivering, I am committed to ensuring these insights help shape policy, inform decision-making and drive real change.
our research is already providing a platform to expose deeper insights. It’s of grave concern to me that the ONS data on suicide shows this is one of the leading causes of death among children and young people too. The figures also underline that geography and deprivation both play a key role in suicide rates.
Supporting mental health means creating communities where asking for help is not seen as a failure, but as a strength. What is clear to me, is that we must start thinking about prevention earlier. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death among children and young people. But suicide is not inevitable. Prevention means reaching men and boys before they reach crisis point. It means creating and strengthening support networks and services they will use and strengthening communities as places in which they feel connected and valued.
We must move beyond simply telling men to "talk". There are more important questions we must answer before this can truly help: are we creating the spaces, building the relationships and providing the services where men and boys feel able to talk?
And critically, is somebody ready to listen?
