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Suicide in Fiji: A Preliminary Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Ruth H. Haynes
Ruth H. Haynes*
Affiliation:
29 Hicks Lane, Girton, Cambridge
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Summary

A survey of police and medical records in a province of Fiji indicated high rates of suicide for Indian women under 30 and for Indian men over that age, especially amongst families engaged in sugar-cane farming. Indian suicide rates were high during the Indenture period (1879–1920), and are still higher amongst Indians than amongst native Fijians: almost 90% of all suicides are Indian, though this group comprises only 50% of Fiji's total population. Age/sex/ethnic distribution, methods, and precipitating factors of recorded suicides were examined for one province of Vanua Levu during the period 1979–82. The increasing use of toxic herbicides, especially paraquat, as a vehicle for suicide is discussed.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 145 , Issue 4 , October 1984 , pp. 433 - 438
Copyright
Copyright © 1984 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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