English: Well, Deputy Presiding Officer, I think in all the years that I've been in public life, I've never felt more inadequate in rising to my feet to take part in a debate, following that powerful speech from Jack Sargeant, because none of us can, of course, compare in experience or knowledge with him - tragic as it is that I have to say that. I've been touched by suicide tangentially, but never directly, and it is a terrible, terrible thing, made all the more powerful, I think, by the way in which Jack described the impact of this upon his family. A very close friend of mine's wife, from university days, just before Christmas, committed suicide out of the blue, and I know what a devastating impact this has upon everybody around. Jack was absolutely right in saying that it affects not just the immediate family, but also the wider circle of friends as well. And it's difficult to imagine, actually, the black place that somebody is in, feeling so desperate that this is the only way out, and it touches everybody's hearts, I think, just even to think about it. And I've been in some black places in my life too. I've been falsely accused of sexual misdemeanours and found myself on the front pages of newspapers and the lead item in news bulletins, and I know the pressure and impact that can have upon you. I was never tempted down the suicide route, but I have personally experienced a sense of loneliness and desperation, and I think it's that loneliness that lies at the heart of this whole problem. As Jack very well said, we need to look after each other in this respect. It's only when people feel that there is nobody to whom they can turn, for whatever reason - . I think Helen Mary Jones again hit a nail on the head in what she said particularly in respect of men, that we are - at least, certainly men of my generation - much too buttoned up. I find no difficulty in expressing myself in public, but I have to say, on emotionally related issues, I find the greatest difficulty in opening up in private, in circumstances where it would be to my benefit to do so. And I'm far from alone in that. So, it is vital that we do as much as we possibly can to take away what remaining stigma there is relating to suicide or suicidal thoughts. We've come a very long way since the Mental Health Act of 1959, before which anybody with some kind of mental illness was described officially as a moral and mental imbecile. There is, of course, a much greater understanding in society today than there was in the world into which I was born, but we still have a very, very long way to go, and Government has a very important role, I think, in this respect, and particularly, as Helen Mary pointed out, in respect of men. Indeed, Dai Lloyd, in his opening speech, also pointed out that middle-aged men in particular, we discovered - . I wasn't, sadly, a member of the committee when the evidence was taken, but I've read with great interest the report and a lot of the documents around it. There is a particular problem with men, and I think the more people of my generation are able to talk about it in public, then it may help somebody. The roles of charities and the third sector in all of this is absolutely vital as well. In a world of family break-up, very often the man is forgotten about because women are overwhelmingly the victims of domestic violence, but men can sometimes also be the victims of domestic violence. Where families break up and children are taken away, then that also is often a cause of suicide amongst men, which perhaps needs more attention. I have had, as many Members have had, contact with a charity called Both Parents Matter, which has drawn this to my attention, which is why I mention it in the course of this debate today. It is important, without depreciating in any way the importance of looking after women in these circumstances, for us also to remember that men can sometimes be victims too. It is a tragedy and perhaps an indictment of society today that suicide is on the increase. It's a paradox, isn't it, that in a world of global communication and instant communication, and in an increasingly urbanised world, people can actually feel lonelier than ever? We have to do all that we can, every one of us in public life, to ensure that we reduce the stigma and maximise the help that can be given to people who are so desperate that they are tempted to take their own lives.
Welsh: Wel, Ddirprwy Lywydd, yn yr holl flynyddoedd y bûm mewn bywyd cyhoeddus, nid wyf wedi teimlo'n fwy annigonol wrth godi ar fy nhraed i gymryd rhan mewn dadl, yn dilyn yr araith rymus honno gan Jack Sargeant, oherwydd ni all yr un ohonom, wrth gwrs, gymharu ag ef mewn profiad na gwybodaeth - er mor drasig yw gorfod dweud hynny. Cefais fy nghyffwrdd gan hunanladdiad yn anuniongyrchol, ond nid yn uniongyrchol, ac mae'n beth ofnadwy iawn, wedi'i wneud yn fwy grymus fyth, rwy'n credu, gan y ffordd y disgrifiodd Jack ei effaith ar ei deulu. Fe wnaeth gwraig i ffrind agos iawn i mi o ddyddiau prifysgol gyflawni hunanladdiad ychydig cyn y Nadolig heb unrhyw fath o rybudd, a gwn pa mor ddinistriol yw effaith hyn ar bawb. Roedd Jack yn llygad ei le wrth ddweud ei fod yn effeithio nid yn unig ar y teulu agos, ond hefyd ar y cylch ehangach o ffrindiau yn ogystal. Ac mae'n anodd dychmygu, mewn gwirionedd, y lle du y mae rhywun ynddo, yn teimlo mor ddiobaith mai dyma'r unig ffordd allan, ac mae'n cyffwrdd â chalonnau pawb, rwy'n credu, i ddim ond meddwl amdano. Ac rwyf fi wedi bod mewn mannau du yn fy mywyd innau hefyd. Cefais fy nghyhuddo drwy dwyll am gamymddygiad rhywiol a chyrraedd tudalennau blaen y papurau newydd a'r eitem gyntaf mewn bwletinau newyddion, a gwn am y pwysau a'r effaith y gall hynny ei chael arnoch. Ni chefais fy nhemtio i gyflawni hunanladdiad erioed, ond profais ymdeimlad o unigrwydd ac anobaith, a dyna'r unigrwydd sydd wrth wraidd yr holl broblem hon. Fel y dywedodd Jack yn dda iawn, mae angen inni edrych ar ôl ei gilydd yn hyn o beth. Pan fydd pobl yn teimlo nad oes neb y gallant droi atynt, am ba reswm bynnag - . Credaf eto fod Helen Mary Jones wedi taro'r hoelen ar ei phen pan ddywedodd, yn enwedig mewn perthynas â dynion, ein bod - yn sicr dynion yn fy nghenhedlaeth i, o leiaf - yn llawer rhy dawedog. Nid wyf yn cael unrhyw anhawster i fynegi fy hun yn gyhoeddus, ond rhaid imi ddweud, ar faterion emosiynol, caf anhawster o'r mwyaf i fod yn agored yn breifat, mewn amgylchiadau lle byddai o fudd i mi fod yn agored. Ac rwy'n bell o fod yr unig un i fod felly. Felly, mae'n hanfodol ein bod yn gwneud cymaint ag y gallwn i gael gwared ar ba stigma bynnag sy'n weddill mewn perthynas â hunanladdiad neu feddyliau hunanladdol. Rydym wedi dod yn bell iawn ers Deddf Iechyd Meddwl 1959, pan oedd unrhyw un a oedd â rhyw fath o salwch meddwl yn cael ei ddisgrifio'n swyddogol fel ynfytyn moesol a meddyliol. Wrth gwrs, mae llawer mwy o ddealltwriaeth yn y gymdeithas heddiw nag a oedd yn y byd y cefais fy ngeni iddo, ond mae gennym ffordd bell iawn i fynd, ac mae gan Lywodraeth rôl bwysig iawn yn hyn o beth rwy'n meddwl, ac yn enwedig mewn perthynas â dynion, fel y nododd Helen Mary. Yn wir, nododd Dai Lloyd hefyd yn ei araith agoriadol ein bod wedi darganfod bod dynion canol oed yn benodol - . Yn anffodus, nid oeddwn yn aelod o'r pwyllgor pan gawsant y dystiolaeth, ond rwyf wedi darllen yr adroddiad a llawer o'r dogfennau sydd ynghlwm wrtho gyda diddordeb mawr. Mae problem arbennig gyda dynion, a gorau po fwyaf o bobl fy nghenhedlaeth i sy'n gallu siarad am y peth yn gyhoeddus, gan y gallai hynny helpu rhywun. Mae rolau elusennau a'r trydydd sector yn hyn i gyd yn gwbl hanfodol yn ogystal. Mewn byd lle mae teuluoedd yn chwalu, yn aml iawn caiff y dyn ei anghofio am mai menywod yw mwyafrif llethol y dioddefwyr trais yn y cartref, ond gall dynion hefyd fod yn ddioddefwyr trais yn y cartref weithiau. Lle mae teuluoedd yn chwalu, a phlant yn cael eu dwyn ymaith, mae hynny hefyd yn aml yn achos hunanladdiad ymhlith dynion, ac efallai fod angen mwy o sylw i hynny. Fel llawer o'r Aelodau, mae elusen o'r enw Both Parents Matter wedi cysylltu â mi i ddwyn hyn i fy sylw, a dyna pam rwy'n tynnu sylw ato yn y ddadl heddiw. Heb leihau pwysigrwydd gofalu am fenywod yn yr amgylchiadau hyn mewn unrhyw ffordd, mae'n bwysig i ni gofio hefyd y gall dynion fod yn ddioddefwyr hefyd. Mae'n drasiedi ac efallai yn gondemniad o gymdeithas heddiw fod hunanladdiad ar gynnydd. Mae'n baradocs, onid yw, mewn byd o gyfathrebu byd-eang a chyfathrebu ar amrantiad, ac mewn byd sy'n fwyfwy trefol, y gall pobl deimlo'n fwy unig nag erioed. Rhaid inni wneud popeth y gallwn, bob un ohonom mewn bywyd cyhoeddus, i sicrhau ein bod yn lleihau'r stigma ac yn manteisio i'r eithaf ar y cymorth y gellir ei roi i bobl sydd mor ddiobaith fel eu bod yn cael eu temtio i gyflawni hunanladdiad.