Suicides forgotten

Jeanie

yellowled24 wrote:

Australian statistics show that the yearly total of suicides in our country outnumber the total of road deaths, which in itself is extremely alarming.

However, we rarely hear of these suicide deaths, only to be subjected to nightly reports of yet another road death.
Why is this??? Why are these deaths not reported on?

My understanding is that health services are loath to report suicide statistics so as not to encourage others. I recall this being particularly bad in rural areas during the height of the drought, statistics in rural Australia are still very high and I do remember some discussion on several occassions about reports of jumpers from Melbourne's Westgate Bridge and how the authorities do not release that information so as not to encourage others to follow.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10738475

There was a heroin toll reported in the newspapers each day along with the road toll when there have been education programmes and initiatives going on or when a particularly bad batch of the drug hits our shores but I don't think that is happening at the moment, although the last time was fairly recent.
There is more media discussion about suicide statistics whenever Beyond Blue is having an initiative but in many cases suicide as a death may not be as readily assertained as perhaps a heroin overdose or a road death, so discussion is usually on statistics and trends in general and not individual cases.

A case in which a person is found dead does require a doctor to sign off on the death certificate. It would probably follow if they had any questions regarding the reason for the death this would require them to report the death to the coroner who would then take some time to investigate and rule on the cause of death. This may also effect the reporting being more instantaneous and individual.

angelica

catefrances wrote:

oh absolutely angelica im very aware that suicidal ideation does not always lead to suicide. hence my saying, sometimes.

I understand.