Page 216 - Week 01 - Thursday, 11 February 2016
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On average, 35 Canberrans die by suicide each year. In addition, many friends, family members and colleagues are indirectly affected by mental illness, the impacts of suicide or self-harm. Poor mental health negatively impacts on the individual, on families, on the community and on our economy. It causes distress, leads to isolation and it can even see discrimination. These are some of the many compelling reasons to invest in mental health and wellbeing and to reduce the risk factors associated with mental illness, suicide and self-harm.
Poor mental health is a contributing factor to people taking their own lives. Other factors can include the experience of bullying, social isolation and loneliness, the recent loss of a life partner, a relationship breakdown, alcohol misuse, release from detention, chronic or physical illness and, for some young people, difficulties connected with establishing identity and belonging, for example, their sexual or gender identity.
There is strong evidence that some population groups are at a higher risk of developing mental ill health because they experience additional stresses, discriminations or stigma, and these groups can include people from an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background, those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, people who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered or intersex, people with an existing mental illness, victims of violence, those who have been incarcerated, those who have witnessed violence, people who are homeless, young people, children of parents who have a mental illness, carers, and people with a substance use disorder.
When you look at the statistics for suicide, they do not make for light reading. Over the past 10 years of reported data, the average number of deaths attributed to suicide in our own territory was around 33 each year. In 2013 there were 37 deaths attributed to suicide, a 54 per cent increase from the previous year, albeit in overall small figures. In 2013 the ACT five-year age standardised rate of death by suicide per 100,000 people was 9.1. This was, fortunately, the equal lowest rate in Australia, but each and every one of those deaths was and is a tragedy.
The number of deaths attributed to suicide in 2013 was a substantial increase from the number in 2012. However, the number in 2012 was particularly low in comparison to previous years. In its 2014 publication Suicide and hospitalised self-harm in Australia: trends and analysis the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare found that the suicide rate between 1980 and 2010 in the ACT and all other jurisdictions except the Northern Territory had remained stable or fallen slightly.
Despite this, as a government we remain absolutely committed to improving access to mental health services for people of all ages, including young people and children. We know that being able to access programs and services that enhance protective factors and reduce risks early in life through access to maternal support, parenting programs and early education programs are powerful prevention strategies, especially for those who are in lower socioeconomic groups. For example, home visiting programs during the postnatal period have been demonstrated to show improvements in mental health outcomes for mothers and newborns and to facilitate improvement of parenting skills and mother-child interaction.
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