Our Hidden Crisis

DISCLAIMER: This post talks about suicide, which can be triggering for certain readers. Please engage in self-care as you read this article.

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It's the thing that can darken a room with one word. It can break apart a community, even at its strongest. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among adolescents in the U.S. Although suicide is an issue among all teens, it is a specifically alarming issue among minority teen girls. Read below to learn about the dangers of suicide affecting minority races.

1 in 7 Latina girls in the US will attempt suicide.

Mental health topics such as depression and suicide are considered to be extremely taboo, resulting in higher rates of mental health issues for Latinas & the Latinx community. Access to resources is also an issue with preventative factors such as culture, familial pressures, language barriers, and access to health care.

Suicide death rates for Black American girls ages 13-19 jumped 182% from 2001- 2017

In a study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, from 2003 to 2017, suicide rates for Black girls escalated by 6.6% annually.

This can be linked to racial discrimination, stigmas in the Black community, and the sexual violence that Black girls are frequent victims of. This can be linked to racial discrimination, stigmas in the Black community, and the sexual violence that Black girls are frequent victims of.

American Indian/Alaskan Native have the highest suicide rates for ages 15-24

For Al/AN girls, ages 15-24, their suicide rate is 6 times higher than the rate of other teen girls. Additionally, Al/AN teen girls experience higher levels of violence than their racial counterparts. According to a 2016 report by the National Institute of Justice, 84% of Al/AN women experience violence sometime in their lives.

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Countless times we have seen the effects that our mental health can have on our families, loved ones, and our community. Every minority girl's life that is taken by suicide, shows as another plea for help. In order to help reduce the number of suicides for minority girls, let's start in our own communities. Let's help eliminate the taboo stigma surrounding mental health, and encourage our peers to speak up about their issues and ask for help when they are struggling. Correct someone when you hear them spreading false information about mental health/illnesses to prevent someone from hearing information that could affect them personally. Be the change in your community to help end the hidden crisis among us.