International effort for suicide prevention

Friday, September 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day, an occasion where the International Association for Suicide Prevention aims to reduce the stigma of suicide and promote help-seeking.

After a successful launch in 2003, World Suicide Prevention Day is now held every year on the same date around the world, with events, conferences, campaigns, and local activities calling to public attention one of the world’s largest causes of premature death.

This year, the theme is ‘Many Faces, Many Places: Suicide Prevention Across the World’. Telephone counselling service Lifeline puts the figure at more than 2000 people who die by suicide in Australia every year, and a further 20,000 who are affected by the loss of a loved one or a friend to suicide.

On June 24, the Senate Community Affairs References Committee tabled its report The Hidden Toll: Suicide in Australia. Among the areas covered were groups identified as having an increased risk of suicide, including GLBTI people.

The report cited statistical evidence that same-sex attracted youth attempt suicide at between 3.5 and 14 times the rate of their heterosexual peers, while the prevalence of attempted suicides among transgender people is between 16 and 47 percent higher.

Suicide by GLBTI people is also likely to be underreported as sexual orientation or gender identity may not be known or acknowledged at the time of death.

The report also stated that it is clear the stigma and discrimination which continue to be experienced by GLBTI youth are likely to seriously impact on their mental health, increasing social isolation and family rejection.

info: To contact Lifeline, visit www.lifeline.org.au or call 131 114 (24 hours).

For more on World Suicide Prevention Day, visit www.wspd.org.au