2013/19: is Australia doing enough to prevent youth suicide?
Introduction to the media issue
Video clip at right:An ABC News report on the death by suicide of a teenaged girl at Geelong, in which the dead girl's mother suggests that news media coverage of suicides contributed to her daughter's death. If you cannot see this clip, it will be because video is blocked by your network. To view the clip, access from home or from a public library, or from another network which allows viewing of video clips.
What they said...
'My view has been that we've been...very successfully for the last 15 years or so - the suicide rate is come down'
Dr Michael Carr-Gregg, a child and adolescent psychologist
'Our lack of conversation around the topic has only endorsed the silence that surrounds our young people who often feel too ashamed... to put up their hand and ask for help'
Dr Patrick McGorry, a youth mental health expert
The issue at a glance
During the third week of November, 2013, there was a coronial inquest into the suicides of three high school students in Geelong. The issues raised by these deaths included the psychological resilience of teenagers and the role of the mainstream media in reporting suicide.
Attempts to reduce Australia's suicide rate, including suicide among young people, were a key focus of the former Labor government; however, critics have maintained there is more that needs to be done.
On September 26, 2013, the Expert Reference Group on Mental Health Reform issued a statement calling on the new Coalition federal government lead by Tony Abbott to set a range of ambitious targets in the area of mental health. One of these is to reduce the suicide rate by ten percent over the next four years.