ZAGREB, 15 May 2022 - Commenting for Hina on data on suicide attempts and suicides in children and young people, psychologist Andreja Bogdan has called for paying more attention to the problem, warning that Croatia lacks a comprehensive national programme for the prevention of suicide in children and young people. 

"Since 2013 there has been no comprehensive, nation-wide, evaluated programme for the prevention of suicide among children and young people, and the problem is mostly dealt with by individual nongovernmental organisations," Bogdan said when asked to comment on information that in 2021 seven children committed suicide and 63 attempted to commit suicide.

The Ministry of the Interior has confirmed that last year seven persons under the age of 18 committed suicide, which is less than in 2020, when there were 10 suicide cases in that age group, but more than in 2019, when six persons under 18 committed suicide.

The suicides committed by children and young people in 2021 accounted for 1.22% of the total number of suicides committed that year, in 2020 they accounted for 1.77% of all suicides that year and in 2019 for 1.06% of all suicides.

A ministry statistical report for 2018 shows that that year three children under 14 committed suicide while 15 attempted to commit suicide and that seven in the age group 15-18 committed suicide while 54 tried to commit it.

Bogdan notes that the official statistics on suicide may vary from the actual numbers because in some cases, such as an attempt to commit suicide with drugs, by poisoning or by using a car, it is difficult to determine intent so such a suicide or suicide attempt is registered as a car accident, poisoning, accidental fall, etc.

She notes that research shows that suicide is one of the leading causes of death from injuries in Croatia.

The psychologist notes that suicidal thoughts and attempts to commit suicide are more frequent at a young age than later in life.

"The rate of suicide attempts or suicides in young people is the highest in the age group 14-19, with males being more at risk both among children and adults," she says, noting that growing up in today's society is not simple and is accompanied by many challenges and questions important for children's personal identity.

On top of that, children are likely to act on impulse and seek excitement and are less aware of the consequences of their behaviour, Bogdan says.

Among the more important risk factors are parents' unemployment and low income, parents not having a close relationship with their children, low level of parental supervision and divorce, mental illnesses in parents, and early parental death.

Children who are victims of peer violence, cyberbullying, children suffering from depression and anxiety disorders, children who use drugs and children with behavioural issues are more at risk of developing suicidal thoughts and behaviour.

Bogdan, a former president of the Croatian Chamber of Psychologists, has objections to the way the policy of suicide prevention has been implemented in the past few years.

"There are individual events dedicated to the issue of suicide and expert training, but there is no clear, structured and continuous implementation of evaluated, scientifically based programmes," she says.

Since 2013 there has been no comprehensive, evaluated programme for the prevention of suicide in children and young people at the national level, and the problem of prevention is most often dealt with by nongovernmental organisations, she says, noting that children and young people lack sufficient information of who to contact for help when in distress.

The experience of work on hotlines for psychological support to children and adolescents, initiated by the Central State Demography and Youth Office shows that children and young people are not likely to talk about their problems or seek psychological help on the telephone, which underlines even more the need for educational institutions to have  mental health experts, Bogdan says.

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ZAGREB, 3 Sept 2021 - The Životna linija (Lifeline) association said on Thursday that on World Suicide Prevention Day, 10 September, it would light 566 candles in downtown Zagreb for as many persons who committed suicide in 2020.

World Suicide Prevention Day is observed on 10 September to raise awareness of the growing problem of suicide, Lifeline president Tin Pongrac said, noting that annually, close to one million people commit suicide globally.

In 2020, 566 persons committed suicide in Croatia, and of them 117 were women while 449 were men.

In the age group 15-25, there were 44 suicides, which is an increase of as much as 57.1% compared to 2019. In all age groups, the most suicides were committed by people over 65, as many as 225, which is 39.7% of all suicides committed in the country in 2020.

The largest number of suicides was reported by the Zagreb County Police Department, 120, followed by the Split-Dalmatia County Police Department, with 45 suicides.

Lifeline is a voluntary association working on raising awareness about the need for stronger suicide prevention and providing support to suicidal and depressive persons.

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ZAGREB, 20 July, 2021 - President Zoran Milanović said on Tuesday there was no causal link between recent deaths in the military.

"There is no causal link between the cases, but there might be a link to some elements of social pathology and disorders which exist within and outside the army," he told the press in Varaždin, adding that he would say what he meant exactly "when some time has passed."

"These things happen, but when something like this happens in the army, it attracts attention and the public raises an eyebrow."

Milanović said deaths in the army were at the level of those in the general population and lower, adding that the recent deaths could not be linked to possible problems in the system.

Asked about soldiers caught using illegal drugs, he said that was a more complex case. "I won't comment. Let's wait for the investigation to be over."

Asked if there was any information that could shed light on the matter, he said, "There is, but I can't talk about it. Their commanders know what they are and I know. As does the Defence Ministry."

He called the whole situation awkward but not shameful. "It's a disgrace and a disaster when soldiers commit war crimes, but the Croatian army didn't do that, only exceptionally and long ago."

Milanović said all armies had problems with soldiers using illegal drugs. "It's good that they have been caught," he added, dismissing claims that the security system was in danger.

Asked if that was not normal behaviour, he said it was not and that it would be punished.

COVID vaccination

Speaking of vaccination against COVID, he said Croatia was neither the worst nor the best. "Once again, I call on everyone, get vaccinated," he said, adding that he doubted threats would work.

Milanović said he was for everything getting back to normal after the tourist season. "This hysteria that is going on, which is spilling over into Croatia from Western countries, is a major stumbling of human intelligence and reason." 

Asked about a constitutional suit filed by the Voice of Entrepreneurs association, which claims that certain businesses were discriminated against during the pandemic, Milanović said it would have been better if the parliamentary majority had been deciding on restrictions because the problems would not have been so extensive.

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ZAGREB, 23 March, 2021 - Toni Matas, whose corpse was found in his car near Knin on Sunday afternoon, committed suicide, the Šibenik-Knin County police department said on Tuesday.

The autopsy confirmed the identity of the victim as Toni Matas, who used to work for the Security and Intelligence Agency (SOA). His body was found near Knin on Sunday afternoon when passers-by informed the Šibenik-Knin County police department that they had seen a corpse in a car.

Matas's last job was as corporate security director at the Croatian Post.

Local media outlets speculate that Matas had private and business problems lately. Some also claim that his name was implicated in the recent wind park graft scandal. Several days before the tragic event, Matas was questioned by the USKOK office for prevention of organised crime and corruption.

Some media allege that Matas left a suicide note in his car and that the note mentioned pressure he had been exposed to due to his role in the said scandal.

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As Index writes on the 13th of January, 2021, a 56-year-old Petrinja man tragically committed suicide in the early hours of the morning today by activating an explosive device, the local Sisak-Moslavina police have confirmed.

Immediately after the report of the explosion, an investigative team from the Sisak-Moslavina police went to the horrendous scene to determine all the circumstances surrounding this event, the spokesman for the Sisak-Moslavina Police Department, Dario Kacmarcik, told Hina.

The local police haven't revealed the precise details of the Petrinja man's suicide, but more should be known after the inquest is completed.

"The people from this area have been traumatised, this is the sad fate of someone which sends out a message to everyone. Croatian defenders and those who created the Croatian state must be put in first place. Psychological help is coming, and the question of just how much such help will be needed is now gaining in importance.

I'm very sorry, my condolences go out the whole family , when I see what this family is going through and what that Petrinja man who raised his own hand against himself was experiencing... Well, that's the question of all questions,'' said the mayor of Petrinja, Darinko Dumbovic when commenting on the tragic event.

Due to the great need for psychological and psychiatric support in the areas affected by the recent devastating earthquake, mobile teams offering professional psychological and psychiatric support have been formed. They currently operate in the areas of Sisak, Petrinja and Glina.

Given the large area that needs to be covered in quake-hit central Croatia, the Crisis Staff of the Ministry of Health has organised the main coordinators through which professional assistance is provided to each area.