09.20 pm, Thursday May 24 2012

Suicide victim's brother wants silence to end

00:02 AEDT Thu Jul 23 2009
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Fourteen-year-old Chanelle Rae died on Friday.
Fourteen-year-old Chanelle Rae died on Friday.

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The brother of one of four teenagers from the same school who have killed themselves in the past five months has pleaded for the silence to end on suicide.

Thomas Rowe's only sister Natalie was 14 when she took her own life in February.

The 17-year-old says there were no signs of her impending suicide.

Since then, three more students at Western Heights College in Geelong have taken their own lives — the latest, 14-year-old Chanelle Rae, on Friday after she was bullied on the internet.

Mr Rowe spoke out as some of Chanelle's schoolmates reacted angrily to her death on social networking site Facebook, vowing revenge against those who allegedly bullied her.

"All of our school knows who the little moles were. They better start watching themselves cos I know a fair few people who want to kick their f***ing teeth in," one post reads.

Mr Rowe, a final year student at the school, has set up suicide awareness and prevention organisation Gravity, which has more than 2500 members.

The group tries to spread its message — 'you are not alone, we all feel it' — through music, clothing, wristbands and blogging.

"It's about time someone stepped up to bring the issue out into the public and to get everyone talking about it," Mr Rowe told AAP yesterday.

"To stop kids from committing suicide and to show them that there is help out there and you can push through these hard times to come out the end of it a stronger person."

Mr Rowe, who is organising a Gravity tour across Victoria, said teachers should not be afraid to discuss suicide with students.

"I don't think schools do enough to talk about suicide and mental health. I think it's sort of swept under the rug — they don't want to touch it," he said.

"The kids are going to be exposed to it one way or another on the internet, on TV, in movies and their family and friends might talk about it. The schools seem to be the only people who won't talk about it.

"They (teachers) are scared that maybe if they were to bring it up someone might go and commit suicide."

Mr Rowe said it was important for young people to talk about their worries to a friend or someone else they trust if they don't feel comfortable confiding in their parents.

"You want to bottle your emotions up, you don't want people to know about them, you don't want people to know what's wrong," he said.

"I guess the problem with that is it just keeps bottling up and bottling up until eventually it just comes out all at once and they could do something that's out of character."

There has also been speculation on a web forum about who the next student to take their own life would be.

"It's gunna cause more. I know a few girls from that school 'planning on it' because their friends are doing it," a post reads.

Chairman of national depression initiative beyondblue, Jeff Kennett, said there was another town in the same district where 12 people had committed suicide over the past 18 months.

The former Victorian premier says governments and society must address the suicide rate and people's mental health the same way they try to bring down the road toll.

 

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