Military Suicide

Despite increased attention to military suicide rates from policy makers and the media, there seems to be a disconnect between available medical research on military suicide, and media and policy framing of military suicide. Put simply, there is a persistent myth that soldiers become vulnerable to suicide primarily when they are exposed to combat and military operations. This project is a comparative analysis that focuses on military suicide in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States.

This project will be the first comparative analysis of military suicide rates that focuses on media representations, policy responses, and medical data. The project will make medical data on military suicide accessible to policy makers, the media, and the public; this will help bridge the existing gap between political and medical discussions on military suicide. This project is currently funded through the Multidisciplinary Arts and Social Sciences Inaugural Fellowship, University of Sydney.