<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>339671</docID> <postdate>2025-03-05 16:08:52</postdate> <headline>Alarm at rise in suicide rate among Indigenous people</headline> <body><div> <p><img class="size-full wp-image-339672" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/20231014001852325035-original-resized.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="513" /></p> <caption>The majority of Indigenous people who die by suicide were under 35. (Dave Hunt/AAP PHOTOS)</caption> </div> <div></div> <div><span class="kicker-line">By <strong>Rachael Ward</strong> in Melbourne</span></div> <div> <p><strong>The true scale of an "alarming" rise in Indigenous Australians dying by suicide may still be under-reported, with concerns about gaps in data and barriers to culturally safe care.</strong></p> <p>Some 27 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people died by their own hand in 2024 in Victoria, a 42 per cent jump in two years.</p> <p>It translates to a suicide rate three times higher than the rest of the population, a report from the state coroner revealed.</p> <p>Some 56.6 per cent of Indigenous Victorians who died in 2020-24 were aged under 35, compared to 30.2 per cent of non-Indigenous people who took their own lives.</p> <p>The average age of death for Indigenous men was 37 and 29.6 for women.</p> <p>In the four years until 2024, one-third of indigenous suicides were in men aged 25-34, while the most common age for women was between 18-24.</p> <p>The analysis also revealed a geographical divide, with 54.9 per cent of suicides in First Nations peoples in regional areas and 45.1 per cent in metropolitan areas.</p> <p>This contrasts with the rest of the population, where two-thirds of suicides occurred in metropolitan areas.</p> <p>The figures are alarming but not surprising, according to Sheree Lowe, executive director of the peak body for Aboriginal health in Victoria VACCHO.</p> <p>She attributed differences between suicide rates among Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians to "intergenerational trauma" and disconnection from family or land.</p> <p>Help on offer may not always be culturally appropriate, she said.</p> <p>"The service system is designed to meet the needs of mainstream Australia and so what that means is more often than not, services lack cultural safety," Ms Lowe told AAP.</p> <p>"Our communities have a historic legacy of mistrust with systems, we often see people waiting until ... a crisis or distress to start to access services, or people don't access services at all because they don't feel safe."</p> <p>Stressors identified by the court included diagnosed or suspected mental health conditions, interpersonal concerns, substance use, exposure to family violence and contact with the justice system.</p> <p>Ms Lowe said efforts to improve data collection on the deaths of First Nations Australians may have contributed to the jump.</p> <p>"There's probably still gaps in that data, so there can potentially still be an under-representation around the identification of whether somebody identifies as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander," she said.</p> <p>State Coroner John Cain said more conversations were needed at both a government and community level.</p> <p>"It is critical to ensure proper supports are in place to drive down suicides in these communities," Judge Cain said.</p> <p>Jessica Gobbo, from the court's Aboriginal engagement unit Yirramboi, said it was vital to release up-to-date information so culturally safe supports can be developed.</p> <p>"More work is needed to understand why and how these passings can be prevented," she said.</p> <p>Ms Lowe said reversing the trend starts with investing more into Aboriginal community-controlled organisations.</p> <p>"Aboriginal health and wellbeing in Aboriginal hands and investing in our community control sectors is where the solutions lie," she said.</p> <p>13YARN 13 92 76</p> <p>Lifeline 13 11 14</p> <p>Lifeline 13 11 14</p> <p>beyondblue 1300 22 4636</p> </div> <p> </p> </body>