Suicide Prevention Australia Conference, Hobart July 2015

I was delighted to be an international plenary speaker (together with Professor Heidi Hjelmeland, Norwegian University of Science & Technology and Dr DeQuincy Lezine, Prevention Communities, USA) at the conference.  The conference was an invigorating and enriching experience – with almost 400 delegates from across Australia, representing the research, policy, practice and lived experience sectors. 

There were many conference highlights/key messages but a number have really stayed with me.  The first was the central participation of those with lived experience in all aspects of the conference.  Indeed, Dr DeQuincy Lezine talked movingly about his struggles with suicidality as well as describing some of his pioneering  advocacy work ensuring lived experience informs research, policy and practice.  Professor Heidi Hjelmeland, drawing from work in Europe and Africa, highlighted the central role of context in understanding suicidal risk and warned against reductionist approaches to suicide research. 

Although I knew that the rate of suicide among Indigenous peoples in Australia was higher than non-Indigenous Australians I hadn’t quite appreciated the scale of the disparity.  The suicide rate among Indigenous Australians is now the 12th highest in the world (Dr Tom Calma, Ambassador for Suicide Prevention Australia). Pre-1960s, suicide was extremely rare in Indigenous communities.