Suicide and self-harm

![CDATA[Suicide deaths are always a tragedy and they take on added significance in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. They are a personal reality and marker of the power of historical events, loss of culture, injustice, and inequity facing Aboriginal people. Deaths from suicide cannot be seen outside this context. They are a legacy of '200 years of Unfinished Business' and reflect suffering, causing further cycles of trauma and grief for families and communities. Demoralisation, depression, and despair increase the risk of self-harm and substance abuse disorders. Prevention can only take place when the origins of the motivations for the suicides of Aboriginals and Torres Straight Islanders - that is, power relationships and prejudice - are dealt with and when the impacts of racism, social injustice, and inequity are redressed. Self-harm is complex and may encompass a wide range of self-destructiveness from substance abuse to self-injury and poisoning. Self-harm and other harm are closely interrelated. To address these issues and injustices, the broader social context as well as personal risk factors must be considered, building on strengths, both individual and community. But such strategies can only be effective when they are initiated, driven, developed, and evaluated by Aboriginal people, for Aboriginal people, and when self-determination and cultural knowledge set the framework for strategies of prevention and care.]]