Self harm on the rise

New figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare which show a significant growth in the rate of self-harm among young people is cause for serious concern.

According to the research, the rate of self-harm among young Australians aged 12 to 24 has risen by 43% in 10 years.

And between 1996 and 2006, the number of young women in Australia hospitalised for intentional self-harm grew by 51%.

What makes a young person take such a terrible and dramatic toll on themselves?
Self-harm is triggered by a range of issues but it’s often daily stresses – feeling isolated, pressure at school, poor body image or low self-esteem – that play the key role, not major changes or events.

Mission Australia has been conducting a National Survey of Young Australians every year since 2002. Our 2007 survey was the largest so far with almost 29,000 young people, between the ages of 11-24, taking part.

Throughout the life of the survey, self-harm has repeatedly come up as an issue of concern to young people.

According to an 18 year-old female respondent in last year’s survey:

“….since I was 9 I have (been) cutting myself up. I have many scars. At times I have tried to commit suicide and on a couple of occasions nearly succeeded. I am improving slowly but I am getting there.”

So what can we do about it?

What young people most need is a sense of purpose, love, of being valued, an understanding of who they are, which all contribute towards their ability to cope with life and its stresses – and that's where parents, family and broader community can really make a difference.

As one of Australia’s largest providers of support services to young people in need, it’s heart wrenching to see how often the lack of these basic factors facilitated a person’s encounter with substance abuse, homelessness, mental illness, long-term unemployment…and yes, self-harm.

We also need to make sure that young people have access to the services and programs which can help them overcome their issues before self-harm takes place.

In other words – early intervention and prevention. It’s much more effective for us to be treating the causes, not just the symptoms.

We also need to continue empowering young people – and their parents and families – with the information they need to tackle issues that contribute to self-harm.

As Mission Australia sees from its survey results each year, when facing issues of concern, most young people go to their friends and family for help first.