High number of indigenous suicides reflects poor health – 09/30/2024 – Equilíbrio e Saúde

Suicides among indigenous people in Brazil increased by 56% in 2023 compared to 2022. There were 180 cases, compared to 115. The majority of suicides were among men aged between 20 and 59 years. Among the very young, indigenous people up to 19 years old, there were 59 – more than a third of the total registered in the year.

The data were collected in the latest annual report by Cimi (Indigenist Missionary Council) on violence against indigenous peoples, based on records from the SIM (Mortality Information System) and Sesai (Indigenous Health Secretariat).

Suicides are related to the increase in violence against indigenous peoples and the lack of medical assistance, says Lucia Helena Rangel, coordinator of the report.

“When we make the connection between the increase in violence, suicides and mortality, we realize that there is a lack of assistance. The community is abandoned”, says the anthropologist, who is a researcher in the field of indigenous ethnology and professor at PUC-SP ( Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo).

The state of Amazonas led in suicides, with 66 records. Next are Mato Grosso do Sul, with 37, and Roraima, with 19 cases.

Scientist Jesem Orellana, epidemiologist at Fiocruz (Fundação Oswaldo Cruz), explains that suicide among indigenous people is not only related to diagnosed pathologies, such as depression, but also to socioeconomic factors of the population.

“The dissatisfaction of these adolescents and young people is linked to what is happening around them, such as territorial conflicts, in addition to stigmas coming from non-indigenous society. Other contextual factors, such as cultural factors, can also influence these individuals, making them more prone to suicide “, he states.

Tuinaki Koixaru, 35, Karajá from the village Santa Isabel do Morro (Hawaló), on Bananal Island, in Lagoa da Confusao (TO), says that he lost cousins, nephews and friends, all aged between 11 and 29, victims of suicide .

The frequency of cases turned the tragedy into routine. “I’ve lost count of how many relatives I’ve lost. I think more than 30 people. Suicide is not new in our community, it’s been around for many years,” she says.

For indigenous leader Eliana Karajá, 54, violence and the lack of basic health care and education are the root of the increase in suicides in communities.

“These problems only get worse when there is no effective public policy and a real commitment to improving living conditions in the villages”, says Eliana, who is president of Asiva (Associação do Vale do Araguaia). “The psychologist, for example, should be present every day, monitoring patients who need help. Unfortunately, this does not happen.”

Sesai, which coordinates and executes the National Health Care Policy for Indigenous Peoples and manages the Indigenous Health Care Subsystem in the SUS, has only 117 psychologists. They are responsible for serving 801,800 people, in 6,800 villages in the 34 DSEI (special indigenous health districts), in 503 municipalities. In 2023, there were 82.6 thousand psychological services. The data are from the Ministry of Health.

For Orellana, the low level of access to mental health services has a fundamental impact on the high rate of indigenous suicides in Brazil. “The vast majority of suicide victims faced some difficulty from a mental health point of view and had some disorder that was not identified or was poorly managed by the health service”, says the epidemiologist.

Eliana reports that, in 2021, she lost the will to live and came close to the same fate as many indigenous people. According to her, the negative thoughts were caused by the consequences of the pandemic and the constant attacks and violence against communities.

“It was a very difficult time, but I found a psychologist who helped me overcome it. He helped me online, from afar, but it was fundamental. I imagine how many other people don’t have this type of support and end up succumbing to the pain.”

The report contacted the Ministry of Health and Sesai to request an interview on the subject, but received no response to any of the requests.

Two years ago, Rossandra Cabreira, 45, indigenous to the Guarani-Kaiowá people, lost her husband to suicide. She says he was accompanied by health professionals from the Dourados Indigenous Reserve, in Mato Grosso do Sul, but resisted treatment.

To move forward, Rossandra, graduated in indigenous intercultural degree from UFGD (Federal University of Grande Dourados), dedicated herself even more to her studies. Art also plays an important role in this process, according to her.

“At the time, I started doing theater, and that’s what saved me. It helped a lot, because I worked all day and, at night, I was at the theater. It was a time to socialize with friends and people I was meeting there”, says Rossandra.

The Dourados Reserve has around 3,500 hectares, where almost 20 thousand indigenous people of the Guarani-Kaiowá and Nhandeva people, mostly, and the Arawak-Terena live. Psychologist Walter Martins, who works at the Dourados Base Center – DSEI, states that the team is still very small. Only two psychologists work in the reserve.

“Although there is a need for progress in containing suicide, the DSEI has carried out important actions in the territory and carried out epidemiological control of the situation, visiting indigenous people in their homes and carrying out campaigns in schools”, says the psychologist.

Where to find help

Vita Alere Institute for Prevention and Postvention of Suicide
It offers support groups for the bereaved and family members of people with suicidal ideation, informative booklets on prevention and postvention and courses for professionals.
vitaalere.com.br

Abrases (Brazilian Association of Survivors Bereaved by Suicide)
It provides informative materials, such as booklets and ebooks, and recommends support groups in all regions of the country.
abrases.org.br

CVV (Center for the Valuation of Life)
Provides voluntary and free emotional support and suicide prevention services to all people who want and need to talk, under complete confidentiality and anonymity via the website and telephone 188
cvv.org.br

This report was produced during the 9th Science and Health Journalism Training Program at Sheetwhich was sponsored by Roche Laboratory and Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein.