Male Suicides in Australia
Suicide Statistics for Males in Australia
Australian males are four times more likely than females to take their own lives.
Suicide rates for males aged 25-44 continue
to rise. In 1990, the rate was 27 per 100,000. In 1998 it hit 37.
By Dr Muriel Newman MP
ACT New Zealand Social Welfare Spokesman Dr Muriel Newman today called
on the Government to make provision for shared parenting in its Care of
Children Bill - to avoid New Zealand mirroring Australia, where family
law is driving many fathers to suicide.
More...
Canberra Times, Sunday, 19th November 2000
As many as three men a day are committing suicide because the nation's
child-support system is driving them over the edge, according to the
Lone Father's Association Australia.
More...
Canberra Times - Sunday, 19th November 2000
You've Pushed Him To The Grave, Ex-Partner Tells CSA Officer
Queenbeyan woman Kate Gibbs is convinced the pressure of making child
support payments while being unable to build a new life of his own is
what finally drove her former partner to commit suicide. More ...
Canberra Times - Wednesday, 15th November 2000
It was "a tragic indictment of the system" that a Canberra man had
committed suicide holding a letter of demand from the Child Support
Agency, the ACT Coroner's Court was told yesterday.
Barrister Richard Thomas said the receipt of the letter two days before
Warren Gilbert's death in August had “tipped him over the edge”. More...
The Age - Wednesday, 8th December 1999
Why does nobody care about men killing themselves? There's immense
public concern about youth suicide. Australia has spent more than
$31million over the past four years to try to reduce our high suicide
rates among the young. There's much angst about Aboriginal deaths in
custody, and even gay youths are finally being acknowledged as a group
at risk. But when it comes to blokes, ordinary adult men killing
themselves in ever-increasing numbers, there's no interest.
Our health departments have spent the past few years studiously ignoring
the growing evidence that adult men aged 25-44 are most at risk - as
confirmed by figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics
last week. In 1998, men in this age group had the highest suicide rate
of all Australians, followed by men aged 15-24. Elderly men, 75 and
over, who traditionally have the highest rate, in that year fell into
third place.
Males are four times more likely than females to take their own lives. More...