Lesotho: The small African country with the world’s highest suicide rate

Everyone here has experienced suicidal thoughts, or know someone who has died by suicide.

Thirty-five-year-old Ntsoaki becomes emotional, as she tells the group her story of being raped in hospital.

“The doctor told me I was too attractive. Then he took out a gun and told me he wanted to have pleasure with me, and if I didn’t he would kill me.

“Every time with suicide, I always thought it was the only solution. I couldn’t do it, I had no strength to do it. The only thing that kept me moving or alive were the faces of my brothers. They believe I’m strong, but I’m weak.”

The group reassures her she is strong for sharing her feelings.

As the session finishes, all the women are chatting and smiling, saying they feel better for sharing their stories.

The reasons people take their own lives are often complicated, and it is difficult to isolate a single cause.

Despite that, Ms Raphoka says she sees patterns that explain why Lesotho has such a high suicide rate.

“Mostly they go through situations such as rape, unemployment, loss because of death. They abuse drugs and alcohol.”

According to a World Population Review report in 2022, 86% of women in Lesotho have experienced gender-based violence.

Meanwhile the World Bank says two in five young people are not in employment or education.

“They’re not getting enough support from their families, friends or any kind of relationships that they have,” Ms Raphoka continues.

It is something you often hear in Lesotho. People say time and again that they do not feel comfortable talking about their mental health – and that others might judge them.

Sitting in a bar in Hlotse one evening, where the male clientele drink local beer and chat politics while football plays on the TV, I steer the conversation towards mental health.

“We do talk about it, we say let’s open up,” Khosi Mpiti tells me.