Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Five bridges in the city of Bern are to be secured with special nets to prevent people jumping to their deaths, the Bernese city parliament decided last Thursday 16 October. City authorities have grappled with the problem of the easy access to heights by people with suicidal tendencies in Bern for many years. A notorious venue for suicides was the Muensterplattform, behind Bern’s cathedral, overlooking the Matte. That was made secure in 1998, and no suicides have been recorded since.
GenevaLunch spoke to Daniela Lutz-Beck, one of the backers of the motion, who said that there were three main suicide “hotspots” in Bern: the Kirchenfeld bridge, the Kornhaus bridge and the Lorraine bridge. The bridges in Bern average 1-2 suicides per year, she said. The nets on the first two bridges should be in place by mid 2011, and by end 2011 for the Lorraine bridge. In addition, Lutz-Beck said that the nature of the netting is mainly dissuasive. Most suicides are momentarily depressed or suicidal, and those that survive often regret their attempt, she said.
The principal argument against the measure is esthetic, but the nets that will be installed will hardly destroy the aspect of the bridges, the proponents say.
Link to other site: Der Bund (Ger)
This work by genevalunch.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported.
News story, GenevaLunch, 19 October 2009.
Filed under: Society
Tags: Bern, bridges, cathedral, Daniela Lutz-Beck, Kirchenfeld brdige, Kornhaus bridge, Lorraine bridge, Matte, Muensterplattform, nets, suicides
October 20th, 2009 at 8:59 am
well thought, but much of this problem, is a social one not a physical problem.so what are the authorities doing to ,socially uplift the minds of these people.it is really annoying to note that people are aware of this very problem, and there are no major sensitization programs across the land to promote living , than any other thing.i think much of the solution is in the way of life is appreciated here and that makes it a social question.
eden
October 20th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
I agree. And I asked that question as well. The title of the article is a little bit misleading, nothing is suicide-proof.
But the idea behind the motion is to make it just that more difficult for the spontaneous jumper. I believe there is a program in Bern to sensitize teachers and social workers to the dangers of suicide. But nothing is perfect.