STRICTLY EMBARGOED UNTIL 00.00 ON MONDAY 2ND NOVEMBER 2015
42% OF UK MEN HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE
As research reveals shock statistics, a hard-hitting new advertising campaign
highlights silent scourge that costs thousands of lives every year
Lynx and Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) join forces
to raise awareness of the single biggest killer of UK men aged under 45
Research published today by men’s grooming brand Lynx and male suicide charity
Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) lays bare the shocking truth behind male
suicide: over one third (42%) of British men aged 18 to 45 say they have
contemplated taking their own lives.*
The publication of the research marks the launch of a high-impact UK-wide advertising
campaign – #BiggerIssues – which is designed to highlight the latest national
suicides statistics that show that male suicide is the single biggest killer of men
aged under 45 in the UK.
In 2014, there were 4,623 male suicides in the UK, accounting for 76% of all
suicides**. Despite the fact that suicide is the single biggest cause of death of men in
this age group, a recent YouGov poll shows that only a fifth (20%) of the public
realise that suicide is the most likely cause of death for men aged under 45.***
The landmark research also shows that the largest proportion – 41% – of men who
contemplated ending their own lives never spoke to anyone about their feelings,
including medical professionals, family members or friends. Of these men, the reasons
for not talking about these feelings included not wanting people to worry about them
(32%), not wanting to talk about their feelings (29%) and not wanting to cause a fuss
(24%).
The #BiggerIssues advertising campaign is deliberately provocative, juxtaposing the
huge attention that society can sometimes pay to relatively trivial topics with its
unwillingness to engage openly with the issue of male suicide. Digital poster sites will
be updated in real time to chart major conversation topics on social media and how,
while we are happy to talk about novelty items, league tables, fleeting fashion trends
and soap storylines, male suicide remains a taboo subject.
Every two hours, the campaign creative will be changed across key sites to represent
the fact that that every two hours, a man takes his life in the UK.
The campaign, which culminates on International Men’s Day (Thursday 19th
November), aims both to raise awareness of this hugely important issue and get
people to talk about it. On International Men’s Day itself, Lynx and CALM will aim to
get the topic trending on Twitter to turn male suicide into a national conversation.
People are encouraged to sign up to lend their voice to this conversation at
www.biggerissues.co.uk.
Jane Powell, CEO of CALM, said: “The results of this research, together with the latest
mortality statistics, show that we urgently need to raise the nation’s awareness of this
hugely important and under-discussed issue.
“Male suicide is tragically the single biggest killer of men under the age of 45 in the
UK, and 12 men take their own lives every day – a fact few people are even aware of,
let alone talking about.
“This isn’t an issue which affects ‘other people’ or one that can be solely reasoned to
mental health issues, considering suicide is clearly something many men will consider
should their life circumstances change. Of those men polled, the largest proportion of
those who’d thought about suicide never actually talked to someone about it and the
reasons they didn’t talk reinforce the norms of what society think it is to ‘be a man’ –
not to talk about their feelings or make those around them worry.
“Together with Lynx, it’s our hope that this campaign will raise awareness of male
suicide and get people talking about the issue more openly.”
David Titman, Marketing Manager for Lynx, said: “As a brand that’s been a daily
part of the lives of British men since 1985, Lynx has a powerful voice and is proud to
be able to use it in partnership with CALM to raise awareness of this massive issue.
“We want to make a positive contribution to the lives of British men and as suicide
stands as the single biggest killer of men aged under 45, it’s an issue that is really
important to us. The ultimate objective of our partnership with CALM is to contribute
to re-education and reduction of the UK’s shocking rate of male suicide, and
encourage men to open up about their problems and seek help when they need it.”
-ENDSNotes to editors:
*Based on a YouGov poll of 2,142 UK men aged 18 – 45 years.
**Based on data published by Office of National Statistics (ONS), General Register
Office (GRO) and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), CALM
concludes that there were 6,109 probable suicides in the UK in 2014, of which 76% or
4,623, were male.
In line with Dept of Health reporting, figures presented are for
persons aged 15 years and over and suicide is defined as deaths given an underlying
cause of intentional self-harm or injury/poisoning of undetermined intent. Suicide
numbers and rates are now available for the individual nations via ONS, NISRA and
GRO. Download CALM’s compiled figures for 2014 here.
***Based on a YouGov survey of 2,015 GB adults aged 16+.
All YouGov fieldwork was undertaken between 14th - 20th October 2015 and between
15th-16th October 2015. The surveys were carried out online. The figures have been
weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+) and of all GB adults (aged
16+).
For further information on the campaign, interviews or case studies please
contact the team at W:
Grace Henwood or Nikki Guest
CALMxLYNX@wcommunications.co.uk // 07813 156 965 // 07828 040 605
For more information on CALM contact:
Alistair Thompson // Alistair@mippr.co.uk // 07970 162 225
Website credits:
Visit www.biggerissues.co.uk for more information on the campaign.
Visit www.thecalmzone.net for more information on CALM.
About Lynx
Lynx is a leading men’s grooming brand that has been a daily part of the lives of
British guys since 1985. Lynx has been working with CALM since April 2015,
beginning by funding extra resources for the CALM helpline, to provide the
charity with additional manpower to support as many guys in crisis as possible.
This November, the partnership will also play out through the #BiggerIssues
campaign, which aims to raise awareness of suicide as single biggest killer of men
aged under 45.
About CALM
The Campaign Against Living Miserably, CALM, is an award winning charity
dedicated to preventing male suicide in the UK. Founded in 2006 the charity seeks to
prevent suicide by providing a service for men who are down or in crisis, and by
fomenting cultural change so that any man considering suicide feels able to seek help.
CALM supporters and advocates include the likes of David Baddiel and Professor
Green, Dizzee Rascal and Frank Turner, and its offbeat brand and challenging
advertising have proven effective in reaching men across the UK.
In the past 12
months, CALM has taken over 40,000 callers via its helpline and webchat. CALM’s free,
confidential accredited helpline and webchat service are available every day of the
week from 5pm to midnight, staffed by professionals, on 0800 585858 (national) 0808
802 5858 (London) and www.thecalmzone.net.
CALM is reg. charity no. 1110621