INCIDENCE. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among children and adolescents.
Bullying matters. In Ecuador, 6 out of 10 students have been the victim of bullying, at least once in their lives.
In Ecuador, 58.8% of students have suffered violence or bullying – by their peers – at least once in the last semester. That was the case of Johanna B., who on Wednesday, April 12, 2023, committed suicide – according to her relatives – due to the bullying she suffered from her classmates.
The Ministry of Education has not given more details about the event, nor those responsible. The family accuses the authorities of the Mejía School (downtown Quito) of knowing about the physical and psychological abuse of which the minor Johanna was a victim; without which a help protocol will be activated.
In 2012, the cases of 18 16-year-olds (the age Johanna was) who took their own lives were recorded. In 2020 there will be 30. And, between 2021 and 2022, nearly 800 minors had at least one suicide attempt.
Paul Guerrero, spokesman for Unicef, points out the need for parents and teachers to know how to identify warning signs. He adds that in Ecuador it is necessary to know that this is happening, to be able to determine the causes and thus avoid events that increase as the years go by. In 2012, for example, there were 178 suicides among the student population. That year, there was even a 9-year-old boy who took his own life. In 2022 there were 130 such deaths.
The figures – says Guerrero – have been on the rise due to factors such as the confinement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, although child suicide occurred before. In 2020, there were 200 minors who took their lives. The youngest was 8 years old. A year earlier there was the case of a 7-year-old boy who committed suicide.
Protocols and complaints
The country’s educational institutions have Student Counseling Departments (DECE). It is from there that, before the complaint of bullying, a route and protocols must be activated. This department must present the alert in writing to the highest authority (rector) and initiate an investigation. If it is found that bullying endangers the emotional and physical stability of a student, it is reported to the Education District; There may be an administrative sanction: it could be the expulsion of the offending students or a suspension.
The Ministry of Education must verify that these alerts were raised, otherwise, it could be configured as negligence. (AVV)
suicidal attitudes
– Sleep disorder (sleeping too much or too little)
– Loss of appetite and/or weight
– Isolation
– Loss of interest in preferred activities
– Truancy
– Physical or psychological aggression
– Alcohol or drug abuse
– Lack of concern for appearance and hygiene
– Taking unnecessary risks
– Interest in death
– Sending worrying messages over the internet
– Bad grades
_ Unusual behavior problems
– Difficult to focus
– Negative comments regarding their own qualities and achievements
Encuentre atención psicológica gratuita
“It is difficult for adults to accept that child suicide is a reality”, says Paul Guerrero, UNICEF spokesman.
El promedio de suicidios en menores de edad se mantiene en los 150 a 200 anuales. Sin embargo, los intentos van en alza. Mientras en 2020 hubo 253 intenciones de suicidio. En 2021 fueron a 485.