AFL and mental illness

[barry]

Suicide IS a chargeable offence in NSW - if you survive the attempt.
I know... what the what????

If it is, that is the weirdest law Ive heard of. Are they trying to discourage suicide by making it unlawful ? lol.

What I have heard, and this may not be correct, is that life insurance policies do not pay out on Suicide. Another anomaly.
Correction: This may be a myth. After a bit of googling, apparently most life insurance policies do pay out on suicide in australia.

[Bloods05]

If it is, that is the weirdest law Ive heard of. Are they trying to discourage suicide by making it unlawful ? lol.

What I have heard, and this may not be correct, is that life insurance policies do not pay out on Suicide. Another anomaly.
Correction: This may be a myth. After a bit of googling, apparently most life insurance policies do pay out on suicide in australia.

Suicide has been removed from the criminal code only in relatively recent times in most Australian jurisdictions.

[ScottH]

Suicide IS a chargeable offence in NSW - if you survive the attempt.
I know... what the what????

Really????


So you are screwed either way??

[AnnieH]

Really???? So you are screwed either way??

Yep. It's awful.

[S.S. Bleeder]

Why is it the responsibility of the employer to look after the psychological welfare of their employees? Employers are responsible for the interactions within the workplace, ie. harassment, bullying, etc. They are not responsible for the general mental health of employees.

As the owner of a small business, the opinion of society that employers are responsible for their employees outside the workplace is a worrying trend. Of course the AFL is a large and profitable entity, but how long will it be before this expectation spreads to small and medium businesses as history has shown?

[S.S. Bleeder]

Nah.
If anything it makes it more 'taboo' and possibly brings a mystique to it, but avoiding dealing with the word.
Suicide is suicide. If that word is going to condemned as somehow inciting others, then simply say "attempt to take his own life"
It's just the media trying to appear sensitive whilst also relishing in being the bearer of bad news.
I find it fascinating when the media sensitively state that 'the family requests privacy', as they are saying this while drawing attention to what has happened.

Anyway, I'm sure it was initially labeled as a fall because people didn't know at the time, and there was a chance that there were shenanigans afoot and horseplay and a fall, as remote as that would have been even at the time.
It seems to be an attempted suicide, likely the end of him as a player, if not through the injuries, then other reasons.
It's sad, but no sadder than any other person who does the same thing that is unreported or a footnote somewhere.

+1. There seems to be a belief that this incident is more important than the 50 others that occur each week because he is either an AFL player or a high profile Sudanese.

I'm sure that it was initially labelled as a fall as to label it as suicide if it wasn't the case would have been very problematic.

[Meg]

Just to correct something said earlier in this thread - attempted suicide is not a criminal offence in NSW (or in any other state in Australia). It was decriminalised in NSW sometime in the last 50 years (although I don’t know exactly when).

See: CRIMES ACT 1900 - SECT 31A

The rule of law that it is a crime for a person to commit, or to attempt to commit, suicide is abrogated.

‘Suicide and attempted suicide are no longer crimes in NSW, so the survivor of a suicide pact will not be guilty of murder or manslaughter. However, there are two offences connected with suicide. One offence is aiding or abetting a suicide or attempted suicide; a person found guilty may be liable to up to 10 years’ imprisonment. The other offence is inciting or counselling someone to commit suicide; the penalty is up to five years’ imprisonment. It is legal to use ‘reasonable’ force to prevent another person from committing suicide.’

Suicide | State Library of NSW

I also came across an article which I think makes some interesting points about the importance of the language we use in discussing suicide and the impact such language can have on anyone who is suffering with suicidal thoughts.

This includes not using the word ‘commit’ as in ‘he attempted to commit suicide’, a verb which implies doing something criminal (e.g. compare with ‘he attempted to commit murder’). Various alternative phrases which don’t imply doing something shameful are suggested, such as ‘he attempted to take his own life’.

http://www.southsydneyherald.com.au/language-matters-when-it-comes-to-suicide/

[Bloods05]

Why is it the responsibility of the employer to look after the psychological welfare of their employees? Employers are responsible for the interactions within the workplace, ie. harassment, bullying, etc. They are not responsible for the general mental health of employees.

As the owner of a small business, the opinion of society that employers are responsible for their employees outside the workplace is a worrying trend. Of course the AFL is a large and profitable entity, but how long will it be before this expectation spreads to small and medium businesses as history has shown?

The sooner the better. We're all responsible for each other. Whether that expectation needs to be expressed through legislation and institutional change is another matter entirely. Personally I would prefer it to be achieved through cultural change, which is a far more amorphous concept, and harder to achieve . But it can't happen soon enough. The idea that we are all little self-sufficient islands is incredibly destructive, to both social cohesion and psychological health.

[Nico]

If it is, that is the weirdest law Ive heard of. Are they trying to discourage suicide by making it unlawful ? lol.

What I have heard, and this may not be correct, is that life insurance policies do not pay out on Suicide. Another anomaly.
Correction: This may be a myth. After a bit of googling, apparently most life insurance policies do pay out on suicide in australia.

I worked in the life insurance industry for 28 years. My memory is the policy has to be going for at least 13 months to pay out on suicide. I would reckon these days suicide would be much more scrutinised at the underwriting stage. On the publishing of suicide and attempted suicides; my daughter works in the mental health sector, specialising in adolescent psychosis, and she told me that the media have not been allowed for many years to publish anything to do with suicide. On radio they will say there is a "police incident" on a freeway or railway line etc

[Nico]

+1. There seems to be a belief that this incident is more important than the 50 others that occur each week because he is either an AFL player or a high profile Sudanese.

I'm sure that it was initially labelled as a fall as to label it as suicide if it wasn't the case would have been very problematic.

This one got prominence because it was deemed newsworthy,

[ScottH]

This one got prominence because it was deemed newsworthy,

I think it would have been deemed newsworthy regardless.
It got traction due to the person being known publically.

[stevoswan]

Majak Daw making positive progress which is nice to see. All the best to him.

Daw takes part in Kangaroos' 2019 team photo - AFL.com.au

[stevoswan]

Now it's Brian Lake.....

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/brian-lake-receiving-treatment-for-ongoing-mental-health-challenges-20190228-p510x0.html

I know he's not too popular amongst Swans fans and I don't like him too much either but I still wish him well with this battle.....as I do anyone facing mental health challenges.

[Melbourne_Blood]

Now it's Brian Lake.....

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/brian-lake-receiving-treatment-for-ongoing-mental-health-challenges-20190228-p510x0.html

I know he's not too popular amongst Swans fans and I don't like him too much either but I still wish him well with this battle.....as I do anyone facing mental health challenges.

The thing that worries me , and without presuming to know what is going on , is that there seems to be a pattern recently of people with some Fame getting involved in pretty average behaviour , and then coming out as suffering a mental illness as some sort of justification for that behaviour . There is two reasons it concerns me . 1. Is mental health being used a scapegoat for people exhibiting poor behaviour / choices / self control? and 2. It now creates a connection between mental illnesses and drunken violence , infidelity etc. etc. - mental illness is something pretty close to my heart , I have lived with family, friends and partners ( and myself ) who suffer from it in different ways and varying levels of severity for my whole life . It certainly can contribute to other behaviours , no question. The thought that it is potentially being used by some to shield them from criticism and consequences of their wayward behaviour makes me pretty angry . Again, not saying this is the case here , but it does seem to be more common for someone behaving poorly and getting heat from the media to come out and reveal their struggles with mental health.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Meg]

AFL and mental illness

I understand what MB is saying above. Equally and possibly relevant to the Lake story, there is a lot of evidence that a large number of high profile sports people who do not have strong post-playing career plans in place, suffer depression, and sometimes turn to undesirable lifestyles, after retirement.