This video provides an overview of research into veteran suicidality, emphasizing the importance of a long-term historical perspective and the value of lived experience.
“When we hear about the numbers, we forget about each case… every one of those numbers is a person.”
“Behind the Numbers: Veteran Suicide” goes beyond statistics to expose the human, historical and social reality of veteran deaths by suicide in Australia. Drawing on archival research back to 1914 and interviews from 1975 to the present, this project situates contemporary suicidality within a century of military policy, programs and legislation, asking what has changed – and what has stubbornly stayed the same. The video brings together researchers and families to show how trauma, institutional betrayal and rapid upheaval after service can fracture identity, purpose and belonging, leaving veterans isolated and their loved ones carrying the burden.
“Predominantly, veteran suicidality is a social issue… a rapid upheaval into normlessness and isolation.”
At the heart of the story is the idea that veteran suicide is predominantly a social issue – a product of normlessness and disconnection when the tight weave of military life suddenly unravels. Lived experience advocates insist that each of the thousands of lost lives is a face, a family and a future cut short, demanding that government, ADF and DVA listen differently if they are serious about saving lives. This film invites viewers to remember the human cost behind the numbers and to join a broader conversation about accountability, care and social repair.
“If you want your ADF, your DVA and your government to succeed in saving veterans’ lives, you have to hear the lived experience.”
