Suicide Hotlines and Crisis Lines in Bangladesh

A helpline is a place to talk to someone when you are struggling, before or instead of a crisis. The lines on this page are answered by trained volunteers, counsellors or government staff, depending on the service. If you are not in Bangladesh, the worldwide list is organised by country.

What you share is kept private in almost all cases; if a counsellor believes a life is in immediate danger, they may arrange urgent help. What each service costs is set out beside it below, because some of these lines publish a cost and others publish nothing at all.

TherapyRoute is a directory. We do not answer calls or messages ourselves, so please use the numbers below rather than contacting us if you need someone now.

CRISIS LINES, SUICIDE HOTLINES, AND HELPLINES IN BANGLADESH

Each number below was checked in August 2026 at the operating organisation's own page, or at the Bangladesh national portal or the government department that runs the service.

Notice an error or a missing service? Please tell us so we can correct it.

Emergency numbers, and what each one is for

Shastho Batayon 16263, health advice rather than a crisis line

Kaan Pete Roi, 3 PM to 3 AM every day

Vent by Mindspace, 6 PM to 6 AM

SHOJON, the SAJIDA Foundation service, 10 AM to 10 PM

Child Helpline 1098, for children and about children

National Helpline 109, violence against women and children

Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, help line for victims of violence

While you are waiting to be answered

If you are worried about someone else

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Emergency numbers, and what each one is for

Bangladesh publishes several short codes and they are easy to confuse. The four below are the ones the national portal labels, and each one does something different.

National emergency service: 999

The portal calls 999 the country's national emergency service number and says that anyone can call it from anywhere in the country to get emergency service when facing any accident. Its row is annotated police, fire service and ambulance, and marked as answered at any hour of any day. This is the number to dial if someone is in immediate danger.

Cost: not published. The portal does not state a call cost for 999, so this page does not claim one.

Fire service and civil defence: 102

The portal labels 102 the hotline of the Fire Service and Civil Defence Directorate and says it can be called from any operator for any emergency service.

Government information and services: 333

333 is an information line rather than a rescue one. The portal says citizens can call 333, and Bangladeshis living abroad can call 09666789333, to find out how to obtain government services. Its row is marked as answered at all times. It is not a crisis line and it is not an ambulance.

Child helpline: 1098 — described in its own section below.

Violence against women and children: 109 — described in its own section below.

Shastho Batayon 16263, health advice rather than a crisis line

Shastho Batayon is the national health call centre of the Directorate General of Health Services, under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. It is worth knowing what it is, because it is the government line most often reached for when someone is unwell, and it is a general health advice service rather than a mental health or crisis service.

Tel: 16263

Hours: its own page says the service is at your service 24 hours, day and night.

Cost: in the service's own words, Shastho Batayon is not a commercial service and calling it costs no more than a normal mobile phone bill. Read that as a normal call charge, not as a free call.

Kaan Pete Roi, 3 PM to 3 AM every day

Kaan Pete Roi describes itself on its own page as "the first and only emotional support and suicide prevention helpline in Bangladesh, staffed by trained volunteers", offering support "through confidential, compassionate, and open-minded listening". Its stated aim is to "alleviate feelings of despair, isolation, distress, and suicidal intent among members of our community".

Calls are answered by trained volunteers. The organisation says that "a caller is not required to share even his/her name if he/she does not want to", and that "KPR maintains complete confidentiality of its callers: volunteers do not share details of the callers with anyone outside of the organization".

One practical note before you search for the organisation online. Its main web address currently sends visitors to an unrelated website, so use its own helpline page, which is where the number and hours below were read.

Tel: +880 9612-119911

Hours: every day, 3:00 PM to 3:00 AM, with no holidays, in the organisation's own words. The line does not answer between 3 in the morning and 3 in the afternoon.

Cost: not published.

Vent by Mindspace, 6 PM to 6 AM

Vent is a psychological crisis hotline run by Mindspace. Its page says calls are taken by "trained volunteers" who are "professionally trained volunteers of the psychology department". On privacy it says: "Complete Confidentiality - Your privacy is paramount. All conversations remain anonymous. You don't even have to share your name if you don't want to."

The service is operated from Dhaka on a national-format number. Its own page does not state how far its coverage reaches, so this page does not claim one.

Tel: 09678-678-778

Hours: available 6 PM to 6 AM.

Cost: "Free Forever", in the organisation's own words.

SHOJON, the SAJIDA Foundation service, 10 AM to 10 PM

SHOJON is the SAJIDA Foundation's tele mental health service. The foundation describes it as an initiative "aiming to ensure mental health care for low, poor, and ultra-poor individuals who otherwise can't access mental health services". Calls are taken by para-counsellors, who pass people on to psychologists and psychiatrists where that is needed.

It is the only service on this page open through the middle of the day, and the only one that names affordability as the reason it exists.

Tel: 09606119900

Hours: in the foundation's own words, "its service remains open every day from 10 am to 10 pm".

Cost: not published.

Child Helpline 1098, for children and about children

Child Helpline 1098 is run by the Department of Social Services under the Ministry of Social Welfare, from a central call centre in Agargaon, Dhaka, with technical and financial support from UNICEF.

The department says a child anywhere in the country who is facing violence, exploitation or abuse can call and ask for help, and anyone else can call on a child's behalf. The support it describes covers child abuse, trafficking, child labour and early marriage, and includes legal assistance, counselling, referral to a safe shelter and rehabilitation.

Tel: 1098

Hours: the department publishes the line as continuous, 24X7, including government and weekly holidays.

Cost: free of charge, in the department's own words.

National Helpline 109, violence against women and children

109 is the government helpline for women and children facing violence and abuse. It sits under the Multi-Sectoral Programme on Violence Against Women at the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, which states that the programme "is being implemented jointly by the Government of Bangladesh and Government of Denmark". The national portal describes the helpline as providing legal guidance and psychosocial counselling.

Tel: 109

Hours: not published. No government page that could be read states when the line is answered, so this page does not print hours for it.

Cost: the ministry's own notice about the helpline calls it toll-free.

Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, help line for victims of violence

Bangladesh Mahila Parishad is a women's rights organisation running legal aid and support for women and girls facing violence, along with Rokeya Sadan, a transient shelter. The two numbers below appear on its own site under the heading "Help line for Victim of Violence".

Tel: 01717 363 647

Tel: 01727209271

Hours: not published.

Cost: not published.

While you are waiting to be answered

Several of these lines keep set hours, and a line that is open can still be busy. If you are waiting, try to stay with someone you trust, or ask someone to sit with you until the call connects.

If you have anything near you that you could use to harm yourself, put it somewhere harder to reach, or ask someone else to hold it for you. Distance and time both help.

If waiting is not possible, dial 999, or go to a hospital emergency department. You do not need an appointment and you do not need to explain yourself well.

If you are worried about someone else

Ask them directly. Asking someone whether they are thinking of suicide does not put the idea there, and it often comes as a relief to be asked plainly.

Listen more than you advise. You do not need the right words, and you are not expected to fix anything.

If they are willing, offer to sit with them while they call one of the numbers above, or to make the call together. If they are in immediate danger, treat it as you would any medical emergency.

Supporting someone through this is heavy, and it is reasonable to want support of your own. The same lines are open to you.

For services in other countries, see the list of helplines and suicide hotlines worldwide.

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