Women's suicide rates on the rise

Women are not getting the mental health care they need, campaigners warn, as the rate of female suicide rises.

"With mental health being so gendered, it follows that women who face mental illness need different support to men," says Katharine Sacks-Jones, the director of Agenda, the alliance for women and girls at risk.

"Without the right help, many women spiral from crisis to crisis, living lives marked by misery."

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What is happening?

Research suggests that one in four people in the UK will face a mental health problem in any given year, with depression and anxiety disorders being among the most common.

In England, women are more likely than men to have a mental health problem and are almost twice as likely to be diagnosed with anxiety disorders, according to the Mental Health Foundation.

But they are not receiving the care they require, campaigners say. Out of 57 mental health trusts in England, only one had agender-specific category, says Agenda.

Sacks-Jones says: "Our mental health trusts are not adequately considering the needs of women.

"Women facing poor mental health are among the most vulnerable people. The majority have experienced violence and abuse and many report needing women-specific spaces to feel safe."

Why?

"There is no requirement for the NHS to provide gender-specific mental health services, but its value was recognised by the Department of Health as far back as 2002," the BBC reports.

Government guidance says all health organisations should aim to ensure they are sensitive to gender and the specific needs of women.

A Department of Health statement specifies "addressing these issues should be an integral activity and not an afterthought".

However, the BBC says none of this advice has translated into concrete policy change.

The key problem is funding. As a service, mental health care has always been chronically underfunded and an easy target for government cuts, says the charity Mind.

Mental illness accounts for roughly 23 per cent of the overall disease burden, but it only receives about five per cent of research funding.

Earlier this year, NHS England announced a five-year plan to improve and expand mental health provision that will include investing at least an extra £1bn a year by 2020.