Preventing suicide: the voice of children and young people

In 2014, 151 young people in Australia aged between 5 and 19 years died by suicide.  Many organisations and individuals are working hard to develop strategies that will make a difference, but the voices of young people are often missing from the conversation. In this series of Insights papers, yourtown/Kids Helpline shares the views and experiences of young people with lived experience of thinking about, planning and attempting suicide.  Using an online survey,  472 children, adolescents and young adults told us how they got help when they were feeling suicidal, who helped them, which experiences were helpful and which weren’t, and what advice they would like to give to other young people, families, friends, and those who provide services for young people like them. In each paper, we have intentionally privileged young people’s own words, as they provide important learnings about how young people think and feel, and are more powerful than anything we could write. Insights Parts 1 to 3 present young people’s experiences of seeking and receiving help, and their advice to others. Insights Part 4 summarises and highlights the issues that young people told us are important to them and draws attention to  those issues that we believe warrant increased consideration in the current policy and practice arena. A fifth paper describes the background and method of the consultation