INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD)
WORLD SUICIDE PREVENTION DAY, September 10th, is an opportunity for all sectors of the community - the public, charitable organizations, communities, researchers, clinicians, practitioners, politicians and policy makers, volunteers, those bereaved by suicide, other interested groups and individuals - to join with the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) to focus public attention on the needs of people at risk of suicide, suicide attempt survivors and people bereaved by suicide, with diverse activities to promote understanding about suicide and highlight effective prevention activities.
Where we work
External reviews
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Total number of organization members
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Other - describing something else
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of policy guidelines or proposals developed
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Context - describing the issue we work on
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
In September 2023, the IASP Membership ratified a Policy Position recommending that every country should adopt, or make progress towards the adoption of a national suicide prevention strategy.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The International Association for Suicide Prevention is dedicated to preventing suicide and suicidal behaviour and to alleviate its effects. IASP leads the global role in suicide prevention by strategically developing an effective forum that is proactive in creating strong collaborative partnerships and promoting evidence-based action in order to reduce the incidence of suicide and suicidal behaviour.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates approximately 800,000 people die due to suicide and that almost 80% of all global suicides occur in the low and middle-income countries LMIC. Among young adults aged 15-29 years suicide is ranked the second leading cause of death. For every suicide there are many more who attempt suicide or have serious suicidal ideation. Suicidal behaviour profoundly impacts families and communities with approximately 135 people affected by each suicide.
Pesticide self-poisoning is the most common means of suicide globally (approximately 20% of all suicides); hanging and firearms are also amongst the most common methods.
There is a lack of reliable and comprehensive information on suicide attempts, termed as non-fatal self-harm. In the absence of any globally standardised approach to case identification and data collection relating to episodes of non-fatal self-harm (whether or not medically treated), it is not possible to provide a valid estimate.
Four Key Strategic Themes form the core of the strategy over the next five years.
1. Strategic Central Role in Suicide Prevention – Global Action
Collaboration
Harnessing a strategic central role that is both proactive and reactive in empowering an effective forum on which evidenced based suicide prevention activities are promoted, implemented and evaluated.
Facilitation
Bringing together networks for the exchange of information and good practice worldwide.
Advocacy and Engagement
Guiding policy in the development of suicide prevention strategies and activities.
2. Communications – Global, Community and Organisational
Communication
Increase awareness of suicide and its prevention.
Dissemination
Transferring evidence-based research and practice into systematic knowledge, skills and experience at a global level.
3. Suicide Prevention Activities – Community Action
Innovation
Initiating suicide prevention activities that address specific needs.
Development
Pioneering suicide prevention activities where there is a lack of facilities or resources.
4. The Organisation
Organisational Infrastructure
Strengthening membership, expertise, networks and systems within the association in order to deliver professional services into the global community.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
IASP is dedicated to preventing suicidal behaviour, to alleviate its effects and to provide a forum for academicians, mental health professionals, crisis workers, volunteers and people with lived experience.
IASP was founded in Austria in 1960 and was for many years a small organisation consisting mainly of academics and health professionals. In recent years IASP has evolved into a global association embracing associated organisations and individuals dedicated to suicide prevention.
IASP Key Strengths
• Offers access to expertise (experience, skills and knowledge).
• Strong connections into emerging global suicide prevention issues.
• An expanding global reach and networks.
• Offers diversity of experience knowledge and skills in the membership across disciplines.
• Strong commitment to collaboration and partnerships.
IASP has members in 77 countries of which only 22% are located in LMIC where suicide is most prevalent. Essential to increasing effective strategies in these countries will be the continuing development of stronger regional networks.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
IASP President Professor Rory O’Connor’s Presidential Message November 2021
It was really encouraging to witness all of the global activities during September, for World Suicide Prevention Month. World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) on September 10th brought suicide to the forefront of global discussion, with world leaders including American President Joe Biden and the Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison publicly pledging their commitment to reducing the toll of suicide in their respective countries. The theme ‘Creating Hope Through Action’ encouraged us to be the light for those who need help finding their way through the darkness; a principle which should extend well beyond WSPD. Those who took part in our annual Cycle around the Globe amassed an incredible 180,000km in honour of suicide prevention, an extremely impressive achievement.
We overcame all of the logistical obstacles presented to us in recent months to host the virtual IASP Gold Coast World Congress in late September 2021. This World Congress was the largest ever, demonstrating an advantage of utilising a virtual platform, thereby facilitating inclusivity for those who may not be in a position to travel across the world to attend in person.
The 10th IASP Asia Pacific Conference will take place in May 2022.We also welcome the announcement of the next World Congress which will be hosted in Slovenia.
World Mental Health Day (WMHD) was observed on October 10th under the theme ‘Mental Health in an Unequal World’. This theme is particularly relevant given the exacerbation of mental healthcare inequality by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Recent research findings suggest that those who have been disproportionally affected since the onset of the pandemic are individuals who already faced significant challenges, such as those living with pre-existing mental health conditions, those from a lower socio-economic background, or experiencing employment and/or financial related issues. Now more than ever, we need to ensure that high quality mental health and social care is a reality for everyone irrespective of background or country. We must address these gaps in healthcare provision, reach those not in contact with clinical services, while continuing to work towards the decriminalisation of suicidal behaviour in those countries where it remains a criminal offence. The latter is vital as this creates its own barrier by deterring vulnerable individuals from coming forward to receive care.
Looking towards the future, we leave this year a little more hopeful than the last. Every day presents a new opportunity to make advancements towards a more equal world for us all, in the context of public health, mental health and beyond. If we continue to work together, I’ve no doubt that we can drive progress towards ending this plight.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We share the feedback we received with the people we serve, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION
Board of directorsas of 03/06/2024
Professor Rory O'Connor
International Association for Suicide Prevention
Term: 2021 - 2024
Thomas Niederkrotenthaler
Annette Erlangsen
Jo Robinson
Lai Fong Chan
Maurizio Pompili
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
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Disability
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Equity strategies
Last updated: 11/13/2023GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.