Suicide rates could be cut with stronger gun laws

Pixabay

A new report suggests suicide rates in Switzerland could be cut if there were stricter rules on the access to army weapons.

Researchers at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands studied suicide rates across Europe - it showed a third of male suicides in this country are with guns. 

In other countries the rate of suicides by gun is under 10%.

Reinforcing the conclusion – when the number of army conscripts was slashed in 2004 as part of a cost cutting measure, male suicides also fell sharply. 

Although soldiers do keep their army weapon at home, they’re not supposed to take any ammunition. 

But figures from the army show there are tens of thousands of cannisters of ammunition missing and suitable rounds can be bought at gun shops. 

 

 

More from Bitesize News

  • Geneva could foot the G7 bill

    Geneva fears it will be left with the security bill from a G7 summit just across the border in Évian, according to 24 heures.

  • US NGO discovers Swiss child abuse cases

    Switzerland relies too heavily on an American NGO to detect child sexual abuse online, raising questions about the country's ability to protect children on its own.

  • French singer banned by Paleo

    The Paléo Festival in Nyon says it will no longer invite French singer Patrick Bruel, after a former volunteer accused him of inappropriate behaviour.

  • Cars going uninspected

    The cantons are struggling to keep up with mandatory vehicle inspections, leaving more than 550,000 checks overdue nationwide.

  • War may lead to rent rises

    Rents may rise again, says the bank Raiffeisen.

  • Not a heatwave, yet

    Summer has arrived, with temperatures climbing past 30 over the long weekend. Basel reached 31 and Sion hit 32.4, but MeteoSwiss, says this does not yet count as an official heatwave.

Download our app

  • Available on the App Store
  • Available on Google Play