A string of brutal attacks in Hong Kong are drawing attention to mental health in the city. The city has experienced particularly severe strains and lacks the resources to adequately care for everyone who needs it. Mental health organisations stated.
In the financial centre, violent crime is uncommon. This month, the police reported that a man with a history of mental illness attacked and fatally stabbed two women in a crowded mall.
Days later, another assailant wielding a knife seriously injured a manager of a McDonald’s restaurant.
Also this month, authorities arrested a 29-year-old mother on suspicion of suffocating her three young daughters.In February, police charged four people in connection with the killing of a 28-year-old model, Abby Choi.
The policy and advocacy group Our Hong Kong Foundation says the state of the mental health of Hong Kong’s more than 7 million people has deteriorated . This is while support from the public care sector is not adequate to meet the need for help.
“The mental status of the Hong Kong population has been worsening over the years,” the foundation said in a report. They cited a World Health Organization index . It measures well-being and a 2022 survey that found that depressive symptoms were widespread.
COVID-19 pandemic is a major factor in the increase in mental health issues. This is as per Mental health experts.
But in the case of Hong Kong, its lockdown rules that were among the world’s toughest .It came after unsettling pro-democracy demonstrations. It began in 2014, bringing bouts of chaos . It then culminated in violent anti-government protests in 2019.