Evaluation of fatal suicide news reported in the press in Çorum bycompering with TÜİK data

Introduction and Aim: Suicide is defined as ending one's life voluntarily. More than 700 thousand people die by suicide in the world every year. It is the fourth leading cause of death among young people aged 15-29 worldwide in 2019. Fatal suicides are events that affect society and are reflected in the judicial process and need to be investigated. Our study aimed to evaluate the sociodemographic characteristics (age, gender, etc.) and event-related data (method, place, situation that caused the suicide, etc.) of the fatal suicide news reported in the Çorum press by year and compare them with TÜİK data. Materials and Methods: Our study was classified after examining and analyzing the fatal suicide news reported in the press in Çorum between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2022. It was compared with TÜİK data. In evaluating the data, statistical analyzes were carried out with the SPSS (Version 22.0, SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA, License: Hitit University) package program. Evidences: Of the fatal suicide news reported in the press in Çorum province, 81.9% (n:68) were male, 15.7% (n:13) were female, and 2.4% (n:2) were of unknown gender. 43.4% (n:36) are between the ages of 20-40. The most frequently used method was a firearm, with 47% (n:39), and the second most common method was hanging, with 44.6% (n:37). Among men, 50% (n:34) most commonly committed the crime by using a firearm, followed by hanging by 41.2% (n:28). Among women, 53.8% (n:7) of the cases were committed by hanging, and the second most common was by using a firearm, 38.5% (n:5). Average of fatal suicide statistics between 2013-2022; While TÜİK Çorum Male:Female ratio was 3.96, this ratio was 5.23 in Çorum press. The news in the press was most frequently seen in the Central district with 72.3% (n:60). The most common fatal suicide occurred at home with 44.6% (n:37), and the second most frequently occurred in the village house with 16.9% (n:14). The day when news of fatal suicides was most frequently reported to the press was Friday, with 25.3% (n:21). The highest number of fatal suicide news, regardless of gender, was seen in May with a rate of 14.5% (n:12), among men, 14.7% (n:10) was seen in December, and among women, 23.1% (n:3) was seen in September. In our study, the season in which fatal suicides occur most frequently is spring, with a rate of 32.5% (n:27). The Result: It is anticipated that the data we obtained as a result of our study will make significant contributions to those who will work on the literature in the field of forensic sciences.