Federal Minister for Community Services Larry Anthony said on January 18 that he was "appalled" by the statistics that reveal one separated man suicides every day in this country. He was emphasising support for the federal government's $16.5 million "Men and Family Relationships" four-year project.
"Separated men have a suicide level six times that of married men, and 12 times that of separated women — a flashing light signalling something seriously wrong", said Anthony. "Even without suicide, it is obvious men have problems dealing with separation, many experiencing poor health and well-being outcomes up to ten years after separation."
It is true that rates of male suicide have increased in the past three decades compared to those of women. This is most evident in the 15-34 year age group, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. In older age groups, especially those over 55 years, rates for both women and men have declined since 1964.
The high rate of suicide is tragic. But just who is really to blame for this increase?
Many, particularly within the men's rights movement, will point the accusational finger at women, or in particular, at feminists. Because of feminism, men have become emasculated, they cry. Men don't know what their roles are any more, because women have all the power now!
Part of this power it seems, is the establishment of the Family Court, and the mechanisms for determining and collecting child support from non-residential (non-custodial) parents through the Child Support Agency in 1988.
"For some the only solution to family breakdown is suicide. The number of divorced men choosing suicide as the means of ending their heartache, pain and suffering has increased since the introduction of the Child Support Scheme", writes Malcolm Mathias, president of the Lone Fathers Association of Australia which in 2000 was given a large boost in funding by the federal government at the same time that money was cut to women's services.
The image of men being done over by the child support system is not supported by the facts. The Australian Institute of Family Studies published a study last May showing that women and children, after divorce, are still much more likely to be poor than men, with 44% of sole mothers and their children below the Henderson poverty line; the biggest proportion of women surveyed were in this group, while the biggest proportion of men were rated comfortably off.
There are some men who are struggling with paying child maintenance, many of whom are unemployed or in jobs with very low pay. But is this the fault of women, or of a socio-economic system (capitalism) which produces unemployment and low-paying jobs?
There are all sorts of reasons for suicide by men. For young gay and bisexual men, especially in rural areas, confusion around or fear of exposure of their sexuality in a culture of "Aussie blokes" is often a major factor. Loss of employment, health worries, demotion at work, job insecurity, all these can lead a person to imagine that there is no point in continuing their life. Relationship break ups can also be a factor, but that doesn't however mean that the other person is to blame.
The rate of unemployment is scandalous, especially when there is so much socially useful work to be done. A large number of the newly created jobs are casual and very insecure. Permanency in employment has become pretty much a thing of the past in most industries, and the psychological insecurity produced by the constant threat of being made redundant is relentless. The wage for many jobs is so low that establishment commentators are forced to admit the existence in this country of a US-style layer of "working poor". Child care is out of reach of many women, yet, for all the hype, "family friendly" work places are few and far between. The impact of the GST is being felt most sharply by those who can least afford it. This is the economic reality of life for a large number of Australians today.
The suicide figures are symptomatic of a society where people of both sexes feel increasingly alienated from each other and society as a whole. Women and girls actually attempt suicide at a rate several times higher than males, but generally use methods that are not as successful, like medication overdoses. Greater access to weapons means that men tend to use firearms far more, or hanging, methods of which both have high success rates.
The fact that women and men are suiciding, or attempting suicide at alarming rates should fill everyone with horror, but to turn this around, to improve our quality of life, we need to stop the scape-goating of women and feminism for the woes of men, the bulk of which result from the same system which devalues women's contribution to society, and treats people as commodities and objects to exploit.
BY MARGARET ALLUM