NCJ Number
139022
Date Published
1992
Length
19 pages
Annotation
A discussion of Aboriginal destructive behaviors in Australian society is necessary to develop a meaningful approach to suicide prevention. This discussion focuses on the causality of Aboriginal destructive behavior, stressors operating in the community, and the impact of police and prison interactions upon the community.
Abstract
The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody found that race made a notable difference on a number of parameters; that police custody deaths were more likely for Aborigines; that suicide was less likely a cause of Aboriginal, than non-Aboriginal, deaths; and that, irrespective of race, suicide was the most common cause of death for prisoners and most common among prisoners left alone. Various studies have shown that violence and destructive behavior play a significant role in the mortality and morbidity rates of Aboriginal communities. While violent sexual abuse remains taboo, sexual abuse and rape are seen as having a causal effect on substance abuse and suicidal ideation. Increasing suicides among the Aboriginal communities appears to be symptomatic of a general increase in all forms of destructive violent behaviors, substance abuse, and unnatural deaths. A study conducted in Adelaide identified factors associated with suicide attempts including, inter alia, employment instability, lack of knowledge of at least one parent, past receipt of emergency aid, living in unsatisfactory rented housing, personal mobility, lack of access to a private vehicle, major health problems, drug abuse, past involvement with police, sexual abuse, and frequent feelings of anger and lack of control over one's life. 17 references