Peer Pressure has been listed as one of the causes of the suicides at an Ivory Park School.
There have been so many questions after four students of Eqinisweni Secondary School in Ivory Park died by suicide a few days from one another. According to a report by SowetanLIVE, the pressure to do well academically and constantly being compared to other children or older ones is one of mang reasons listed for this.
Yet, no one knows why the students truly ended their lives. Some anonymous kids have also lamented a lack of support from their parents who judge and demand a lot more from them.
A student who opted to remain anonymous told the publication,
“Sometimes people just snap. There’s a lot going on and we can’t speak to our parents about it because they won’t understand.”
They further stated that they are often queried by their parents when they speak out about being tired from school or pressure from outside. They continued, “They would compare you to your older brother who is doing well.”
The school was visited by the Gauteng Department of Education as well as minister of basic education Angie Motshekga on Friday. They confirmed that the first incident occurred on April 26 and the last on May 5.
Dr Hlomile Mlahleki, CEO of Pholosong Hospital in Brakpan, revealed that there has been a noticeable increase in suicide attempts since last year.
“What we noticed is that before September, there were 40 suicide attempts per month and after that – between September and March – it increased to 55 cases per month. One-third of them were under 18. During the peak in September, about 40% of the suicide attempts were by children, and it’s a really big struggle to identify what is driving them.”
