NASSAU, Bahamas, Jul 11, CMC – The Bahamas government says a new study has found that one in five Bahamian students bewteen the ages of 13 and 18 have attempted suicide.
Prime Minister Phillip Davis, speaking at the signing ceremony of a multi-million dollar loan agreement with China, described the 2025 Global School Health Survey as “staggering and heartbreaking.
“There is no single cause, but we know the pressures are real: the expectations, the silence, the bullying, the economic strain at home, and the ever-growing influence of social media,” Prime Minister Davis said, adding that the images, the comparisons, the pressure to be perfect it’s too much.
“Our children are carrying burdens many of us can’t see, and in some cases, can’t even begin to understand. This is not just a health issue. This is a moral issue. This is a national issue. It is a call to action for government, for parents, for teachers, for churches, for communities.”
The survey involved more than 2,000 Bahamian teenagers across 35 schools on eight islands.
Among its most concerning findings, the report found that one in four adolescents said they have contemplated suicide, while one in five said they have attempted it.
The report also found that while fewer teens are having sex compared to data collected in 1998, a larger percentage of those engaging in the activity are doing it unprotected.
The data shows that 34 percent of teens surveyed were active drinkers, with binge drinking rising from two percent in 1998 to 12 per cent. As it relates to other substances, 21.8 per cent of Bahamian teens reported using illegal drugs. Of them, more than half said they had their first exposure by the age of 13.
The survey also found that weapon carrying is a “growing practice” with nearly one fifth of the teenagers surveyed reporting that they carry weapons.
The report also found that 7.7 percent of teens admitted to being gang members.
Prime Minister Davis said that in 2022, the government took a major step forward with the passage of the new Mental Health Act, “ the first meaningful reform to our mental health legislation in nearly 60 years.
“We didn’t just pass a law; we laid the foundation for a new era in how we support those who are struggling. We’ve begun training more professionals, doctors, nurses, and community health workers, and we are training our guidance counsellors and educational officers to recognise the signs, to intervene early, and provide support that works.”
But Davis acknowledged that legislation alone is not enough.
“Training alone is not enough. We also have to change how we show up in the lives of our children. A tablet can’t take the place of a conversation. An iPad can’t substitute for quality time. And the pressure our children face from the constant pull of social media, the comparisons, the online cruelty, the need to be liked, followed, validated ,it’s harming them. And we have to do more to shield them.
“As a country, we cannot afford to lose our children to silence. We cannot allow pain to hide in plain sight. Every life matters. Every voice deserves to be heard. Every young person deserves to know they are not alone.”
He said while today the country marks a partnership that will help it build physical infrastructure, “I want us to also commit to building emotional and social infrastructure as well, strengthening the systems of care and compassion that will help every Bahamian, especially our youth, live with dignity, purpose, and hope.”
On Thursday, Minister of National Security Wayne Munroe said that the alarming data released about the mental health challenges and substance abuse issues teenagers face is not surprising, calling on adults to be more present in children’s lives to counteract negative influences.
Munroe also dismissed suggestions that the data meant today’s youth is lost, adding that his generation battled similar challenges when they were young but had more support from parents, other relatives and the wider community.
“If as adults we were honest with ourselves, we were doing a lot of [those things] when we were younger.
“The challenges facing young people today are much greater than when we were young,” he said, referencing the glut of information that is readily available to children today. To say that this generation is lost would be short-sighted and hypocritical of my generation because we did what they did, maybe not at the level, and maybe it was at the level with what was available.
“Back then we had a lot more adults paying closer attention to us than the young people have today,” Munroe said, noting today’s youth don’t have the same level of support systems compared to older generations.
He said the Ministry of National Security has several youth intervention programmes to help guide children on the right path.
Earlier this month, a judge sentenced a 28-year-old man to 20 years in prison he was found found guilty of sexually abusing a young boy, whose subsequent suicide attempt was linked to the trauma of the abuse.
The abuse occurred when the victim was between the ages of seven and nine, while the convicted person was seen as a “big brother” figure, referring to him as “King Basil”.
CMC/ag/ir/2025