Suicide rates among adolescents are rising – Joint action by the state and The Smile of the Child

Suicide rates among adolescents are rising –

Joint action by the state and The Smile of the Child

PRESS RELEASE

Athens, January 28, 2026

In light of the grim statistics on suicide and non-suicidal self-harm among children and adolescents, both internationally and nationally, as reported by "The Smile of the Child," according to which:

• Suicide is the third leading cause of death for people aged 15-29 (source: LifeLine International Network)
• In recent years, there has been a consistently high but underreported suicide rate in Greece, with approximately 400-500 deaths per year
• From 2021 to 2025, there was a 31.6% increase in the total number of suicides and non-suicidal self-harming behavior among children and adolescents handled by "The Smile of the Child"
• In 2025, "The Smile of the Child" handled 764 cases of suicidal and non-suicidal self-harming behavior (2 per day). Particularly worrying is the overrepresentation of girls, especially those aged 13-15, in cases of self-harm and suicide (33.5%)
• In 2025, mental health issues (40.9%) remained the most frequent reason for children contacting the helplines of "The Smile of the Child."

Today, January 28, 2026, the President of the Board of Directors of "The Smile of the Child," Mr. Costas Yannopoulos, and the Deputy Minister of Mental Health, Mr. Dimitris Vartzopoulos, held a joint press conference to announce the development of a broader cooperation with the aim of responding to and intervening in the growing trend of challenges faced by children and adolescents in terms of their mental health—and in particular, issues of suicidality and self-harming non-suicidal behaviors.

The meeting was also attended by Mr. Panagiotis Koutsoubelis, Vice-President of the Board of Directors of EKAV (Emergency Aid Center), Brigadier General Vasileios Bertanos, Director of Cybercrime Prosecution (Hellenic Police), Brigadier General Christos Gavras, Deputy Director of the Attica Rapid Response Directorate (Hellenic Police, and Ms. Stavroula Malliri, Head of the European Emergency Number 112 (Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection), representing the four institutional bodies that have been working closely with "The Smile of the Child" and play a decisive and critical role in the immediate intervention in cases of children and adults who express suicidal and non-suicidal behavior, i.e. are in danger of losing their lives.

At the same time:

The inclusion of "The Smile of the Child" in the LifeLine International Network was announced, a global network of 39 organizations in 30 countries, which aims to provide universal access to crisis response services, reduce the risk of suicide, and ensure that help and support are always available.

The launch in Greece by "The Smile of the Child" of two new Helplines: the 116016 European Helpline for Domestic Violence and the 116006 European Helpline for Victims of Crime.

Costas Yannopoulos stated:

"Today, all of us who are actively involved in every case of a child, adolescent, or adult whose life is in immediate danger, having expressed suicidal or non-suicidal self-harming behavior, are here. We are here not to present the already enormous mechanism we have jointly developed, but to see how we can respond to the growing number, primarily of children, who express life-threatening behavior in every way. Immediacy and a multidisciplinary approach are the "key" to becoming more effective, but the most important thing of all is prevention. Prevention that is overlooked, that is not promoted, and ultimately, the lack of which leads us here... to an increase in the number of our fellow human beings who are putting their lives at risk.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the frontline workers, the people at "The Smile”, as well as EKAV, the Cybercrime Prosecution Unit, and Immediate Action, who are fighting alongside us to save every child at risk, as well as the Deputy Minister of Mental Health, who stands by us, understands our work, and tries in every way to support us.

I appeal to everyone to invest in prevention. Let's teach our children to call the National Helpline for Children SOS 1056, to send a message to Chat 1056 and to our Organization's social media to share their problems, the dead end they may feel, their fears, and everything that makes life difficult for them. I appeal to parents, teachers, everyone... contact us so that we can find a solution together, so that we can prevent problems before they arise.

"The Smile of the Child" has the knowledge, experience, human resources, and excellent cooperation with the authorities, and is available to everyone, free of charge, every day, anywhere in Greece.

The Deputy Minister of Mental Health, Dimitris Vartzopoulos, stated:

"The Smile of the Child" is able to coordinate state agencies, which is extremely important and crucial. However, it is important to support the Organization so that it can continue to provide these services free of charge to citizens, using state resources. We have started by funding the Day Center for psychotherapeutic services operated by the Organization, and we are looking for ways to expand funding for the Organization's other important services that aim to respond to and successfully address the growing challenges faced by children and adolescents in terms of their mental health."

Detailed statistics from "The Smile of the Child” for the period 2021-2025:

• mental health issues accounted for 40.9% of all requests for counseling.
• 26.4% of mental health counseling requests—approximately 1 in 4—concerned issues of suicidal and non-suicidal self-harming behavior.
•  2,648 children, adolescents, and adults were supported for issues related to suicidal and non-suicidal self-harming behavior.
• From 2021 to 2025, there was a 31.6% increase in the total number of cases.

In 2025

• it handled 764 cases of suicidal and non-suicidal self-harming behavior. Particularly worrying is the overrepresentation of girls, especially those aged 13-15, in cases of self-harm and suicidal behavior (33.5%).
• Of the total 764 cases, and often with very little information available to the Organization, assistance was requested to locate individuals at risk from:
• for 385 cases from the Greek Police's Cybercrime Division
• for 67 cases from other competent authorities and agencies (Immediate Action, Police Departments, EKAV, 112)