The APPG has released three reports on the status of boys and men and are hitting on most of the points that you would expect out of this type of effort.

They consulted with various experts on the topic of male suicide, including several academic psychologists, as well as people working on the front lines for this issue.

It's a relatively short report so if you want to read it yourself, you can download it here:

https://equi-law.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/APPG-MB-Male-Suicide-Report-9-22.pdf

Here are some key points.

Suicide is the leading cause of death for men under 50

While suicide rates for women have been in decline for decades, suicide rates for men continue to increase, and this should be seen as a national emergency. 75% of all suicide deaths are men.

Male suicide is primarily driven by external factors, not by internal mental health issues

Male suicide is being driven by larger issues in society that need to be dealt with on their own. It is not simply an issue of "depression" or other "internalized" problems that can be dealt with in therapy.

Some of these problems are,

  • Institutional issues related to the family court system. Including parental alienation, child support, and administrative violence.

  • Domestic violence and a lack of support and resources for male victims

  • Financial and employment issues, which are often concentrated geographically and by employment industry. Relationship breakdown is also a contributing factor because men are expected to financially support two households instead of just one.

  • Homelessness

  • Loneliness and isolation

  • Ethnicity, and in particular our reluctance to believe ethnic men, especially when it comes to domestic violence and sexual assault

  • A lack of empathy in society for men and male issues

  • A lack of academic and professional interest that focuses on men in any kind of positive or helpful manner, including at a government level

There are also factors that align a little closer with the mental healthcare industry:

  • Adverse childhood experiences

  • A loss of meaning and purpose

  • Schizophrenia and depression

  • Addiction

  • Major life transitions, especially related to employment, the military, and relationship breakdown

  • A lack of signposting for mental healthcare services for men

One thing that got pointed out several times is that many of these drivers are not related to mental health. What that means is we cannot solve the male suicide epidemic by focusing on mental health solutions for these problems. We instead need to be looking at society at large, and tackling these issues more broadly.

Suicide is one symptom of a larger problem

Not all men affected by these problems commit suicide. Many resort to diseases of dispar, such as addiction, and fall into poor physical health.

We need to get away from campaigns that tell men to "open up" or "talk more"

While many people have the best of intentions when they say this, it is simply not very helpful.

Most men do talk about their problems. The real issue is that people don't listen. It shouldn't be up to men to open up more and should instead be up to everyone else to listen more.

Most men do ask for help

Research has found that men do seek help before committing suicide.

Around half of men had been in contact with a mental health resource before committing suicide, and over 90% had reached out to professional resources for their problems. This includes help related to the common drivers of suicide mentioned earlier: help with homelessness, domestic violence, employment, family court issues, and financial assistance.

This is important for two reasons:

  • These resources are helping, but they could be doing more

  • Men who reach out to these resources should be identified as potential suicide risks, and offered additional help

We should not use the term "toxic masculinity" in any capacity

Toxic masculinity is mentioned 7 times, including in the forward of the publication. The message is clear and resolute: toxic masculinity is a harmful idea that needs to be dropped from the conversation on male mental health.

We should not be policing masculinity, or victim blaming men

There is a growing narrative in society that masculinity is somehow harmful or in need of reform. This includes ideas ranging from "ending the patriarchy" to the idea that men need to "man up".

There is simply no evidence that there is a problem with masculinity. In fact, quite a bit of research has identified masculinity to be a positive influence for men and for society.

It also places the burden back onto men to fix their own problems. Which they often cannot do because their issues are systemic and institutional in nature.

Male suicide should not be minimized because "women attempt more"

It's difficult to say who really attempts suicide more, but there is certainly room to help everyone, including women.

We need more men in psychology and a greater focus placed on male psychology

Women dominate the mental health field which has led to strategies being taylored towards women more than men. We need to increase the number of men entering the field and place a greater emphasis on male mental health education via male psychology modules and training.

We need a minister for men's health and wellbeing

There are four ministers for women but none for men.

A minister for men's health and wellbeing is greatly needed, and a strong focus for the minister should be placed on the suicide epidemic.

There are signs of progress

Most of the progress over the years has come from the bottom up through local charities, online groups (often anonymous), and interested people.

But there is also a growing field for male psychology, new textbooks, and courses at university.

Some common themes are signposting for men, shoulder to shoulder therapy instead of face to face talk therapy, and making sure resources are open and accessible for men when they're available outside of employment and domestic commitments.