Coroner shines light on indigenous suicide

More than half the indigenous people who committed suicide in Victoria since 2009 had had contact with police, a report has found.

Jill Gallagher, chief executive of the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health ­Organisation. Picture: David Geraghty

More than half of the indigenous people who committed suicide in Victoria since 2009 had contact with police in the 12 months ­before they died and a third had contact with the court system, a groundbreaking report has found.

Advocacy groups claim the ­extensive data breakdown in the report by the Coroners Court provides proof of the extent of indigenous vulnerabilities and suicides.

Since the beginning of the year, 11 indigenous people have committed suicide in Victoria and 20 indigenous people committed suicide in 2019.

The report shows marked differences between indigenous and non-indigenous people who committed suicide during the recording period of January 2009 to April 30 this year.

Forty per cent of indigenous females who committed suicide were aged under 25, compared with 13.4 per cent of all females who took their lives.

Indigenous people who committed suicide had greater contact in the previous year with police (52.2 per cent to 39.6 per cent) and were also more likely to have a diagnosed mental illness (62.3 per cent to 55.7 per cent).

Alcohol was detected in 40.2 per cent of post-mortem toxicology results of indigenous people compared to 29.4 of all Victorians, and the detection of ­illegal drugs was also higher (42 per cent to 15 per cent).

 

Coroner John Cain said the ­report was important because it provided a significant data base going forward. He said people had previously speculated on the suicide figures but the report and more detailed future studies would provide reliable background data for policy decisions.

Jacqueline McGowan-Jones, chief executive of Thirrili, an indigenous organisation working to stem suicide, said there needed to be a focus on prevention of indigenous suicides as well as “postvention” to help families and friends cope with bereavement and trauma.

“We want early notification reporting from people so we can reach out to the family,” she said.

“(Reports on) self-harm and attempted suicide, the protocols can get better at providing support to those at risk.

“I do commend Victoria on doing the report. The way we get change is to identify why it is happening.”

Ms McGowan-Jones said there needed to be a stronger focus on support services.

“It’s heartbreaking that with all the opportunity for prevention, we still can’t reach everybody who needs help and support,” she said.

Jill Gallagher, chief executive of the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health ­Organisation, said answers were needed urgently.

“We know our families and communities are hurting. This is a failure of the system,” she said.

“There is a shocking and disproportionate level of suicide between Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples compared to the broader Australian population.”