By Kim Choe
An expert in youth suicide prevention says New Zealanders need to talk about the issue more openly, or more families will suffer.
His comments come amid reports that 10 young Pacific Islanders killed themselves in South Auckland last month, and the suburb of Papakura tries to cope with losing three young children as a result of self harm.
Papakura marae has become the focal point for families struggling to come to terms with the sudden deaths of their children.
“These mothers thought they were good mothers, and providing care and assistance, and they thought they had a good relationship with their children. They were absolutely horrified when they found out what their child had done,” says marae chairman Brian Joyce.
Two 12-year-old girls and one 10-year-old boy have died in the past few weeks after harming themselves - one of the girls after being sent a text message encouraging her to do so. Affected families have been talking to the community - something the marae hopes will prevent any more tragedies.
“When the father addressed the students, he said, look at the grief my daughter has caused all of us. All of us. Not only the parents, but the whole school, her friends. This is not what we want our children to inflict upon us. You don't realise the effects that you may have upon your community, upon your families, upon your school when you participate in these sorts of acts,” says Mr Joyce.
It's this discussion that a youth suicide prevention specialist from the University of Kentucky says is crucial. He says if the community avoids talking about it, the likelihood of further suicides increases.
“If we talk about the consequences and explain to them how terrible it is - the sadness, the loss of life, the grieving on the part of the families and classmates, they're less likely to commit it,” says Adolescent Medicine Specialist Professor Hatim Omar.
New Zealand's youth suicide rates are the highest in the developed world, with nearly 16 deaths per 150,000 15 to 19-year-olds - more than twice the average rate for all developed countries.
Omar says this is proof that trying to hide the fact that a suicide's occured isn't working.
“Does anybody honestly who wants to keep it quiet, believe that a student, a 14-year-old in a school, who lost a classmate to suicide, doesn't know that this kid died from suicide?”
His call for more openness is in line with the Chief Coroner's comments in August that if media reporting restrictions were relaxed, more families could be spared the anguish of losing their children.
3 News