Surge in young women taking their own life

Teenage girls and young women died by suicide in Victoria in higher numbers in 2021 compared to recent years, new Coroners Court data reveals.

Youth mental health expert Patrick McGorry says the data ‘suggests young women are bearing the main mental health burden of the pandemic’.

Teenage girls and young women died by suicide in Victoria in higher numbers in 2021 compared to recent years, new Coroners Court data reveals, a trend not seen in older females or males.

Twelve females aged under 18 died by suicide in the year to November, the monthly Victorian Suicide Register shows, compared to three in the previous year and eight in 2019. Two more females under 18 are suspected to have died by suicide in November alone. The data also shows a rise for females aged 18 to 24, with 23 Victorian women dying by suicide in the year compared to 15 in 2020 and 17 in 2019.

By comparison, the numbers in all other age cohorts of women were down this year compared to last, while for males it was broadly consistent.

Ten males aged under 18 died by suicide in the year to November, compared to 14 the year before and 12 in 2019, the Victorian Coroners Court data shows.

Youth mental health expert Patrick McGorry said the data “suggests young women are bearing the main mental health burden of the pandemic”.

“Taken in isolation you might be inclined to downplay it, but put it together with a 50 per cent rise in emergency department presentations for suicidal behaviour and mental ill-health, along with huge demand for mental health services for young women, and I’d say it indicates a trend,” Professor McGorry said.

“It continues a pattern of deteriorating mental health for young people over the last decade, accelerated by Covid.”

Professor McGorry warned that while there had been a huge national effort to save the lives of older Australians during the Covid outbreak, it may have come at the cost of the deterioration of mental health, particularly for younger women.

And while he said the federal government had taken significant steps to address mental health concerns during the pandemic, “it needs to redouble its efforts”.

“We have more than 1000 young people on waiting lists at Headspace centres in the northern suburbs of Melbourne alone, and a disproportionate number of them are young women.”

A Coroners Court of Victoria spokesperson said care had to be taken in interpreting trends from such small cohorts, and monthly and annual suicide data can vary substantially.

“The court has noted a potentially higher than expected number of suspected suicides among women under 18 this year,” the spokesperson said. “This is similar to 2012, where there was an elevated annual frequency of 18 suicides amongst this cohort.”

The spokesperson also said the 2021 figures for women aged 18-24 were comparable to 2018 when 20 women died by suicide.

 

Overall, the number of Victorians who died by suspected suicide in the year to November was 624, down from 661 last year and the lowest since 2017, the Victorian Coroners Court data showed. There were 470 males and 154 females.

Nationally, there were 3139 deaths by suicide in 2020, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

Another issue of concern in relation to suicide is the failure to address the particular needs of Australia’s culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

Suicide Prevention Australia is calling on the federal government to enact a Suicide Prevention Act, formalising a national prevention plan, and including a specific section on preventing suicide in CALD communities.

“CALD communities often have a lot of stigma associated with suicide, which can impact access to services for those in distress,” Suicide Prevention Australia chief executive officer Nieves Murray said. “This reinforces the need for culturally appropriate suicide prevention services and a co-ordinated approach to improving suicide and mental health literacy amongst our CALD communities.”

If you or someone you know is at risk of suicide, or for help or information, contact Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636, Lifeline on 13 11 14 or the Suicide Call Back Service (1300 659 467), or see a doctor.