Det danske Fredsakademi
Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik 15. november 2007 / Timeline November 15, 2007
Version 3.514. November 2007, 16. November 2007
11/15/2007
120 US war veteran suicides a week
Agence France-Presse
THE US military is experiencing a "suicide epidemic" with veterans
killing themselves at the rate of 120 a week, according to an
investigation by US television network CBS.
At least 6256 US veterans committed suicide in 2005 - an average of
17 a day - the network reported, with veterans overall more than
twice as likely to take their own lives as the rest of the general
population.
While the suicide rate among the general population was 8.9 per
100,000, the level among veterans was between 18.7 and 20.8 per
100,000.
That figure rose to 22.9 to 31.9 suicides per 100,000 among
veterans aged 20 to 24 - almost four times the non-veteran average
for the age group.
"Those numbers clearly show an epidemic of mental health
problems,'' CBS quoted veterans' rights advocate Paul Sullivan as
saying.
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