Page 3712 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 23 November 2022
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as well as the more lethal means used. We also know that the most common risk factors for men are similar to those for women—a history of self-harm, relationship breakdown and family disruption, and relationship difficulties with a spouse or partner.
A previous suicide attempt is the largest single factor indicating future suicide risk. In response to the need for aftercare services for people who have attempted suicide, the ACT government established the Way Back aftercare service, which has been operating in the ACT since 2016, and is delivered by Woden Community Service.
As a social researcher and public health services advocate, I attended seminars on the new service when it was being established, where I learned about the referral pathways into the service and the supports offered to participants. I could see that the referral pathways would likely pick up more men than women, due to the complexity of differentiating between self-harm and attempted suicide. Right from the beginning this service has really helped people in our community by shining a light during one of the darkest times in their life.
When the demand for aftercare services increased beyond the capacity of the existing service, the ACT government responded by increasing funding and seeking additional support through the bilateral agreement with the commonwealth which was signed in March this year. This increase in capacity means the Way Back service can work with more people considered to be at risk of attempted suicide rather than only those who have already made an attempt.
It is also important to understand the disproportionately high numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who die as a result of suicide. In 2021 the rate of deaths by suicide per 100,000 people in Australia was 38.6 for Indigenous males compared to 18.2 for non-Indigenous males. We have so many strong and caring First Nations men here in our community, and we need to do better at strengthening and caring for their mental health and wellbeing, and that of the family and community surrounding them.
That is why, as Minister Stephen-Smith mentioned earlier, the ACT government has funded a new ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Prevention, Intervention, Postvention and Aftercare Program, being established by Aboriginal community-controlled organisation Thirrili.
The program was an ACT Greens 2020 election commitment and is supported by evidence analysed by the ACT Office for Mental Health and Wellbeing and recommendations from the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Working Group. Thirrili is working with Woden Community Service and our local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community to establish the service.
We know that we will need more services in future to support the mental health and wellbeing of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. I note that nine per cent of participants in the first year of service of the Garran step up, step down service provided by Stride identified as First Nations people. That is quite a significant thing to think about—that the proportion of participants accessing the service who are
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