Call to fund study of rural suicide

Funding wish ...
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Funding wish ... Federated Farmers' (NZFF) health and safety spokeswoman Katie Milne would like to see more funding given to mental health research. PHOTO: SOUTHERN RURAL LIFE FILES
More research needs to be done on the reasons behind New Zealand's farmer suicide rate, both for men and women, New Zealand Federated Farmers' (NZFF) health and safety spokeswoman Katie Milne says. In a recent press release she said statistics showed 169 farmers had committed suicide since 2007-08.

The organisation had requested more details relating to 2013-14 figures from Coronial Services.

''The answer was a staggering 22 farmers, including seven women, showing how mental health issues on farm were not just a male preserve,'' Miss Milne said.

''Six farmers were under the age of 24 and 10 over the age of 50,'' Miss Milne said.

''Five of the seven women were over 40.

''It is quite startling and we need to dig into those numbers if we can.''

As well as being actively involved with farming with their husbands, more women were farming on their own account.

While there has been a focus on male farmers' mental health, women farmers were also under considerable pressure from the same factors that affected their male counterparts, such as economic conditions, red tape requirements, financial pressure, illness, relationship problems and adverse weather conditions.

While women tended to communicate more with other women than men did with other men, they also felt their partner's pain and distress, as well as dealing with family changes such as children leaving home, Miss Milne said.

''We are better at wearing our hearts on our sleeves and talk about it [problems] more.''

She would like to see more funding given to mental health research, she said.

''We need to know if this is a blip in the statistics and it would be good to find out what is going on.''

Although there had been campaigns such as Federated Farmers' ''When Life's a Bitch'', she felt more needed to be done.

In a 2005 study the Ministry of Health said a single suicide cost the community about $2.9 million in economic and non-economic costs.

Rural Women New Zealand chief executive Noeline Holt agreed more funding was needed for research on rural mental health and the circumstances surrounding suicides.

''The question is `Who cares for the carer?''' Mrs Holt said.

There were often issues within isolated rural communities regarding accessing mental health services, those wanting help sometimes not being able to get it, she said.

''There is also a level of stoicism in rural women, as well as rural men, that you don't see much with urban people.

''Women are supposed to be the nurturers and not supposed to have problems.''

Women in farming businesses were often making the financial decisions, sometimes acting as a ''gate-keeper'' of financial information in an attempt to protect the partner.

There were also issues surrounding domestic violence.

''A study showed that 39% of incidents [of domestic violence] were in rural areas, compared to 33% in urban areas.

''There is a lot of work to do in that area,'' Mrs Holt said.

Southland Rural Support Trust co-ordinator Lindsay Wright, of Wendonside, said he was not surprised by the number of women in the statistics and normally the male-to-female ratio of suicides was four to one, so the figures represented only a small spike in the statistics.

BY YVONNE O'HARA

  

 

 

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