Every day in Australia, 6 men die by suicide. Australian Bureau of Statistics data reveal that, in 2017, the number of deaths from intentional self-harm was 3,128. Of those lives lost, 75% were men. Suicide is the leading cause of death among Australia men aged 15-44 years, more so than road accidents.

Suicide is a very complex issue with lots of contributing factors, including alcohol use, relationship breakdown, depression, anxiety, and difficult transitions across the lifespan. However, suicide attempts remain one of the most reliable and robust risk factors for subsequent suicide attempts and death by suicide, particularly for males. For example, in a 2016 study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, Bostwick and colleagues reported that among people who had made a suicide attempt, one in 19 subsequently completed suicide, including one in nine males, and one in 49 females.  Importantly, 82% of these deaths by suicide following a suicide attempt occurred in the first year following the attempt. Thus, a key strategy in the effort to reduce suicides in Australia, is to engage and support people, particularly men, who have survived a suicide attempt.