Silent Pain and Public Policy

Hardback

Silent Pain and Public Policy

Suicide and Social Welfare in the Middle East and North Africa

9781035338795 Edward Elgar Publishing
Edited by Anis Ben Brik, College of Public Policy, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar
Publication Date: November 2024 ISBN: 978 1 03533 879 5 Extent: c 288 pp
This groundbreaking book sheds light on the alarming yet often overlooked issue of suicide in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It critically examines the role, limitations, and suicide prevention strategies of existing social welfare systems and uncovers the complex interplay of factors driving suicidal behavior, including socioeconomic factors, political instability and conflict, family and social dynamics, religious beliefs and practices, gender disparities, and youth vulnerability.

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This groundbreaking book sheds light on the alarming yet often overlooked issue of suicide in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It critically examines the role, limitations, and suicide prevention strategies of existing social welfare systems and uncovers the complex interplay of factors driving suicidal behavior.

Providing a comprehensive analysis of the complicated landscape of suicide across the MENA region, the book identifies six main determinants: socioeconomic factors, political instability and conflict, family and social dynamics, religious beliefs and practices, gender disparities, and youth vulnerability. It explores the diverse suicide prevention efforts across stable monarchies, countries facing political and economic upheaval, and societies grappling with war. A clarion call for action, this pioneering book emphasizes the silent crisis of suicide in MENA societies and the urgent need for holistic, evidence-based, and culturally informed public policy agendas to strengthen social support, mental health services, and suicide prevention initiatives.

Integrating multidisciplinary perspectives, this book is invaluable for students and scholars of public and social policy, public health, welfare states, middle eastern studies and development studies. Drawing upon sociological, epidemiological, and participatory research methodologies, its policy agenda serves as a roadmap for policymakers, researchers, and mental health professionals committed to suicide prevention worldwide.

Critical Acclaim
‘Silent Pain and Public Policy offers a profound if troubling exploration of the intersection between political stability, economic crises, and mental health. Examining stable monarchies to conflict regimes, this book reveals how socio-political contexts shape suicide rates and social welfare responses, providing new critical insights and fresh policy recommendations for addressing this pressing, though often shrouded, public health issue.’
– Leslie A. Pal, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar
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