UNFPA study on the situation of Syrian youth in the crisis: 41% prone to commit suicide

According to a study released by the UNFPA, young Syrian displaced suffer from vulnerability at the health, educational, social, psychological, livelihood and economic levels.  According to the same source, 41% of those surveyed considered committing suicide and 53% have never felt safe and secure in Lebanon.  Their desire for death reflects their apprehension of life and the crisis they are going through.  In addition, cases of harassment and abuse are prevalent especially amongst women and girls.  This affects their mobility and encourages early marriage in addition to mistreatment as many displaced are forbidden from drinking and work more than 15 hours.  Furthermore, relations between host communities and the displaced have become more complex and tense.
The study entitled “Situation Analysis of Youth in Lebanon Affected by the Syrian Crisis” was conducted by UNDP in collaboration with UNICEF, UNESCO, UNHCR, and Save the Children and coincided with the subject of the international population day, namely “investing in youth” which is celebrated on July 11th of every year..  The study was released in Beirut last week during a ceremony which highlighted the issues of concerned and which called on governments and international agencies to place more focus on youth as they are the most vulnerable category during conflict.
Ross Mountain, the UNFPA representative in Lebanon, noted in his keynote address during the event that this study is an important report especially since the humanitarian impact on this category has not been properly recorded or addressed before.  Mountain added that the study shows that 16% of the registered displaced whose number has reached 1,070,803 in June 2014 are young people aged between 15 and 24 and have particular experiences as a result of the crisis and, as such, special intervention and support should be designed for them.

Source: Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Nahar 14 July 2014