AMHF launches campaign to Save Aussie Men
The Australian Men's Health Forum is calling on the Morrison Government to develop a national plan to tackle male suicide in Australia.
The Save Aussie Men campaign encourages the public to send a personalised message to Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the Government, asking them to tackle male suicide head-on.
New figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on October 23 reported an increase in male suicide in 2019 to a record 2,502, up by more than 40% in the 10 years since 2009, when 1,749 men died by suicide.
Suicide now kills 9 people a day in Australia, with 7 being male and 2 being female (on average).
Read: Male suicides hit record high in 2019
But while over 75% of suicides are men, the majority of suicide prevention services the Government funds are shown to largely address female suicide risk factors.
Suicide prevention strategies in Australia don't take into account the differences between men's and women's experiences of suicide.
They don’t account for the fact that male suicides are more often linked to relationship problems, money issues, job loss and alcohol abuse.
On September 10 this year, AMHF marked World Suicide Prevention Day by releasing a report outlining the case for a National Male Suicide Prevention strategy.
DOWNLOAD THE REPORT: GIVING MEN A HAND: THE CASE FOR A MALE SUICIDE PREVENTION STRATEGY
Last month the National Suicide Prevention Adviser to the Prime Minister, Christine Morgan, called on the Government to fund a men's action plan aimed at preventing male suicide.
“The Government has set itself the ambitious target of working towards a zero suicide goal," said AMHF CEO, Glen Poole.
"Tackling male suicide with a targeted strategy and funding would go further than any other approach to achieving this goal."
AMHF’s Save Aussie Men will run throughout December.
“Everyone can help tackle male suicide by writing to the PM today and ask him to commit to funding a national action plan to Save Aussie Men from suicide,” said Poole.