Further Information Back to Contents Introduction Suicide is a tragic event. It has a profound personal effect on all associated with the person who dies including family, friends and the community in which they live. It has even more impact when the suicide is that of a young person at the threshold of adulthood.
Youth suicide is a leading cause of death among older adolescents.
While it is still a rare event at the local community level, the rate at which the problem has grown overall in WA and in Australia in the last few decades gives cause for concern. It is also recognised as one aspect of the much larger issue of youth mental health. There is concern about the growing numbers of young people experiencing depressive disorders and about the increase in intentional self- harm amongst some groups of young people. The following data provide a statistical overview of youth suicide and self-harm. Wherever possible Western Australia data have been used, however, in some instances, WA numbers are too small to be statistically reliable.