An Isle of Man charity is calling on the government to take further action on suicide prevention as the group prepares to hold a public protest outside Tynwald.

ManxPACT’s peaceful protest will take place on Tuesday, October 20, from 12pm until 2pm at Tynwald’s Legislative Buildings on Prospect Hill in Douglas.

It follows the publication of a report by the Social Affairs Policy Review Committee into suicide, which was presented to Tynwald in July 2026.

The report found that the Isle of Man’s suicide rate was higher than England’s in 13 of the 16 rolling three-year periods between 2006–08 and 2021–23.

The latest figures cited in the report put the Isle of Man’s rate at 13.9 deaths per 100,000 people, compared with 10.7 in England.

Mental health funding was also highlighted in the report, which stated that 13.8% of funding in the UK was allocated to mental-health services, compared with 9% on the Isle of Man.

Founder of ManxPACT, Juan Moore, said: ‘We want to bring our island's community together and demonstrate the depth of feeling on this emotive subject.

‘It is heartbreaking to repeatedly hear local people's negative experiences of the island's suicide prevention mechanisms. We're calling for greater action from government, and we want clear, measurable objectives that can be assessed with transparency.’

ManxPACT says the protest will focus not only on raising awareness, but on specific changes it wants considered.

‘We are calling for funding to match UK levels, a community hub in each region and a duty clinician scheme for the crisis team,’ Mr Moore added.

ManxPACT, which stands for People Actioning Change Together, is inviting members of the community who have been affected by suicide or mental ill health, as well as those who want to support improvements in suicide prevention and mental-health provision, to attend the protest.