With farmers continually over-represented in suicide statistics to this significant degree, he said local programs needed to ramp up to get more targeted help. "The numbers are not going down," Mr Sartor said. Mr Sartor said it is also likely that a number of fatal car crashes in the bush involving only one vehicle were actually farmer suicides that never made it into the statistics.Īnd looking at the data from the middle of the drought in 2018, the farmer suicide rate jumped from 60 per cent to 94 per cent above the rate for non-farmers. "Just a quiet word asking people 'how are you going?'" "I think this research is showing that local community-based services are more likely to be successful – locals helping locals – at sporting clubs, pubs, community events, local schools. "Most farmers I know would rather cross the street than bump into the local doctor," he said.
Video (s), min of content, store item (s) Stream and download in HD. The film will be available to you for the next 48 hours. He said part of the problem was the culture around reaching out for help from medical professionals. The Hidden Face of Suicide enters the world of survivors, those who have lost loved ones to suicide, and reveals their remarkable stories. "During the recent drought in NSW we had seen the rates of suicide increase quite a bit as well." "Farmers with certain demographic characteristics also had higher suicide rates including males, between the ages of 20 and 50, particularly those who have separated from their spouse, and middle-aged farmers. So access to firearms is an important factor. "In fact, after the crackdown on automatic weapons following the Port Arthur mass shootings, we saw farmer suicide rates fall quite significantly. "But easy access to such a quick and lethal method probably accounts for the high rates of suicide in the bush to some degree. "We know guns are a part of everyday life on a farm," he said. Mr Sartor said that the drought, relationship breakdowns, and underlying depression were key risk factors.īut one issue that stuck out in the research was the easy access to firearms. National Rural Health Alliance (NRHA) policy team member Luke Sartor said "the study found that between 20 there were 370 farmer suicides reported".Īlarmingly, the average suicide rate in farmers was almost 60 per cent higher than non-farmers, according to the coronial data. MSN strongly advises to read with caution and proper guidance.Ī farmer commits suicide every 10 days according to an Australian-first study of farmer suicide rates based on 10 years of national coronial data. Editors' Note: This story tackles sensitive topic that young and some readers may find disturbing.