Suicide Perceptions:Historical

•Ancient Greece & Rome: Honourable & heroic•Early Christianity: Suicide seen as a mortal sin, denied burial in hallowed ground.•Japanese soldiers: Suicide seen as honourable death during 2nd World War•Suicide as a crime: England & Wales: Last countries in Europe to decriminalise suicide until 1961; People imprisoned for attempting suicide•Terrorists: Suicide bombings:honourable

Suicide in Australia

Suicide takes the lives of more than two thousand Australians every year & has devastating impacts on families, friendship groups, workplaces & communities.

Statistics on suicide in Australia

More people in Australia take their own life than die from motor vehicle accidents in a year.

Coroner verdict: Evidence that a person died as a result of a deliberate act to cause his or her own death.

Rates & trends in Australia 2006: 1,799 deaths by suicide ABS 8.7 PER 100,000 people rate

dropping steadily since 14.7 per 100,000 in 1997

Males accounted for 78% of these deaths

Suicide accounted for nearly one fifth of all deaths amongst young men aged 20-34 yrs

Statistics & trends Suicides among males 15-19 yrs has

more than halved over recent yrs. 1997 – 121 males in this age group died

by suicide (18.5 per 100,000) 2005 – 67 males 15-19 yrs died by

suicide (9.5 per 100,000) 2005 – Females 15-19 yrs 24 suicides

per 100,000 1997 – Females 15-19 yrs 33 suicides

per 100,000