Former female members of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) are more than two times as likely to die by suicide compared with the general population, a new report has found.
The latest update on suicide among ADF members by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare revealed while suicide rates compared remained similar to previous years, ex-ADF members still had a higher rate compared to the Australian population.
The suicide rate between 1997 and 2020 among ex-serving men was 27 percent higher than the general population, after adjusting for age, while ex-serving women had a rate 107 percent above.
However, suicide rates among permanent and reserve members of the ADF who are currently serving remained below rates among the broader community.
The report found male permanent members of the ADF had a 49 per cent lower suicide rate, while it was 46 per cent lower for men in ADF reserves.
It’s the fifth year the institute has released findings into suicide rates among veterans.
Institute spokesman Paul Pham said the report helped to provide key information about how suicide rates differed.
“This ongoing monitoring aims to inform improvements in mental health and suicide awareness and prevention for serving and ex-serving ADF members and their families,” he said.
“The AIHW acknowledges that every life lost to suicide is a tragedy and the impacts on family, friends, and communities are profound.”
This year’s report follows the release of the interim report for the royal commission into veteran suicide.
The commission made 13 recommendations, which included measures to reduce the claims backlog for veterans.
The institute’s report said between 1997 and 2020 there were 1600 deaths from suicide among ADF members who had served since 1985.
For men who left the defence force voluntarily, the suicide rate was similar to the overall rate among Australian men.
The report found the most common risk factor for suicide was the presence of a mood disorder such as depression and anxiety.
The risk factor was the most common for nearly half of ADF men and two-thirds of ADF women.
“Of the risk factors examined, psychosocial risk factors were the most commonly identified among ADF males and females who died by suicide, followed by mental and behavioural disorders and natural disease,” Mr Pham said.
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