Suicide Prevention in New Zealand Questions and Answers What is the purpose of the New Zealand Suicide Prevention Strategy 2006-2016? Why was the New Zealand Suicide Prevention Action Plan 2008-2012 developed? Who oversees the implementation of the New Zealand Suicide Prevention Strategy 2006-2016 and the New Zealand Suicide Prevention Action Plan 2008-2012? Is there new money to support the New Zealand Suicide Prevention Action Plan 2008-2012? How can suicide be prevented? Is there potential for interventions to do harm? What are the risk factors for suicide? How many people die by suicide in New Zealand? How does New Zealand's suicide rate compare internationally? What is the purpose of the New Zealand Suicide Prevention Strategy 2006-2016? The New Zealand Suicide Prevention Strategy 2006-2016 (the Strategy) was launched in June 2006 to provide an all-ages approach to suicide prevention. The Strategy provides a framework for suicide prevention efforts over the next 10 years. Its overarching aim is to reduce the rate of suicidal behaviour and its effects on the lives of New Zealanders, while taking into account that suicide affects certain groups more than others. The seven goals of the Strategy are to: Promote mental health and wellbeing, and prevent mental health problems. Improve the care of people who are experiencing mental disorders associated with suicidal behaviour. Improve the care of people who make non-fatal suicide attempts. Reduce access to the means of suicide. Promote the safe reporting and portrayal of suicidal behaviour by the media. Support families/whānau, friends and others affected by a suicide or suicide attempt. Expand the evidence about rates, causes and effective interventions. Back to top Why was the New Zealand Suicide Prevention Action Plan 2008-2012 developed? The Action Plan was developed to build on the Strategy and provide more detail about how the high level goals of the Strategy can be achieved. The document is the first of two Action Plans, each spanning five years, to cover the full 10 year duration of the Strategy. The Action Plan is made up of two companion documents: The Summary for Action and The Evidence for Action. Together the two documents outline what actions are needed, who will do them and by when, as well as discussing the evidence informing the actions. Back to top Who oversees the implementation of the New Zealand Suicide Prevention Strategy 2006-2016 and the New Zealand Suicide Prevention Action Plan 2008-2012? The Ministerial Committee on Suicide Prevention reviews progress and ensures a cross-government approach to implementation. The Inter-Agency Committee on Suicide Prevention meets monthly to discuss progress on the implementation of the Strategy and Action Plan. The Ministry of Health is responsible for leading the multi-sectoral response to suicide prevention and coordinating the implementation of the Strategy and Action Plan. Back to top Is there new money to support the New Zealand Suicide Prevention Action Plan 2008-2012? In 2007 $23 million over four years of new funding was allocated specifically for suicide prevention initiatives. In addition to this, many initiatives that contribute to suicide prevention are not called “suicide prevention programmes” but are part of the core work of a range of government agencies and are part of baseline funding. For example, it’s hard to separate out suicide prevention funding from a lot of general mental health service funding. Back to top How can suicide be prevented? Just as there is no one reason why someone would take his or her own life, there is no one answer. Prevention initiatives are generally aimed at reducing risk factors for suicide, promoting protective factors and improving service provision. The New Zealand Suicide Prevention Strategy 2006-2016 ('the Strategy') provides a clear overall vision for the prevention of suicide. It outlines a framework to assist in identifying actions we can undertake to reduce the rate of suicide and attempted suicide in New Zealand. The New Zealand Suicide Prevention Action Plan 2008-2012 (the Action Plan) provides detail about how each goal of the Strategy will be achieved. The Action Plan describes the types of actions required across the range of sectors involved in suicide prevention. Although the overall rate of suicide has reduced by 19 percent and by 33 percent for youth aged 15 to 24 since its peak in 1996 - 1998, more can be done to ensure rates continue to decline. The Strategy and Action Plan aim to prevent suicide by bringing some consistency to prevention efforts and encourage interconnectedness across government and non government agencies, mental health service providers and the community. The Strategy and Action Plan recognise we all have a role to play in preventing suicide which can only be achieved by ultising a collaborative approach. Below are some examples of things that can be done to prevent suicide: Promote positive mental health in families, schools, workplaces and the community. Promote awareness of mental health issues at the community level. Prevent, recognise and treat depression Improve services that have contact with people at risk of suicide (eg, primary health care; emergency services; mental health services; Corrections; Child, Youth and Family; school guidance counsellors). Support initiatives to reduce the stigma of mental illness (eg, Like Minds, Like Mine campaign). Improve public understanding of what to do if someone is suicidal. Improve support and treatment of those who have already attempted suicide, and their friends, families and whānau. Implement measures to restrict access to the means of suicide. Provide guidance to the media about the reporting and publicity of suicide to minimise the potential for imitative suicides. Expand research and information systems so that suicide prevention strategies can be targeted for the best outcomes. Back to top Is there potential for interventions to do harm? There is international evidence that some well intentioned initiatives, such as school-based suicide awareness programmes for students, have actually increased the risk of suicidal behaviour. Suicide prevention programmes which involve schools, mass media or raising awareness of suicide need to be approached with extreme caution, be carefully pre-tested and evaluated for any potential unintended negative effects. Initiatives to prevent suicide must be informed by research and best practice to ensure that these initiatives do not have unintended consequences. Back to top What are the risk factors for suicide? The causes of suicide are broad and complex. Many factors have been found to be associated with suicide, such as being of low socio-economic status, coming from an abusive family background, experiencing a recent stressful life event and experiencing issues relating to sexual identity. Suicidal behaviours and the factors that are associated with them are most commonly linked to mental health problems. Therefore, the presence of a mental health problem, particularly depression, is the single biggest risk factor for displaying suicidal behaviour. Back to top How many people die by suicide in New Zealand? Approximately 500 people die by suicide in New Zealand each year. Suicide rates were quite stable from 1948 to the mid 1980s. Rates increased during the 1980s, reaching a fifty year peak in 1996-1998 of 16.3 deaths per 100,000. Since then, the rate of suicide has dropped by 19 percent to 12.2 per 100,000 in 2006 – the most recent statistics that are available. For more information on New Zealand's suicide statistics, see Statistics. Back to top How does New Zealand's suicide rate compare internationally? Making international comparisons isn’t necessarily useful because countries have different standards in ascertaining when a death is a suicide. Therefore, caution is urged when making international comparisons as the data are not robust. In 2005 New Zealand was fourth highest in selected OECD countries for male all age suicide rates and fifth highest for female all age suicide rates. The rate for 15-24 year old males was second highest in selected OECD countries and third highest for females of this age. Back to top Website feedback We welcome your feedback on this page.

What to do if you are concerned that someone may be suicidal Related information Suicide Facts New Zealand Suicide Prevention Strategy 2006-2016 New Zealand Suicide Prevention Action Plan 2008-2012 Suicide Prevention Information New Zealand (www.spinz.org.nz)

Page last updated: 24 December 2008