A West Australian farmer who survived childhood sexual abuse fears that planned mental health checks for gun owners will worsen the stigma around seeking mental health support in rural areas.
Key points:
- The man, who gets help for his depression, says some people may not get the help they need if they fear they will lose their guns
- The WA government wants to tighten gun laws to reduce suicide and domestic violence rates
- Police Minister Paul Papalia says “the system” will try to help those living with mental illness
The Great Southern farmer, who asked to not be named to protect his privacy, said he lives with depression after being sexually abused as a child.
The man said he got help for his mental health but was worried that the new gun laws may prevent other farmers from accessing mental health support out of fear of being reported or stripped of their gun licence.
The state government revealed it was looking at cracking down on gun owners by introducing mandatory and ongoing mental health checks.
Police Minister Paul Papalia said 20 people died from gunshot wounds in WA last year and mental health issues were involved in half of those deaths.
Stigma in regions
The farmer, who spoke to the ABC, said people in country towns often struggled to talk about their mental health without feeling shame.
“My greatest concern is there are people out there the same as I am, who need psychological help, and then they’re not going to go for it if it means that the doctor or psychologist could report them to the powers that be,” he said.
He said more mental health resources in rural communities might be a better way to address suicide and violence rates.
“We need more services … you could be waiting two years before you get to see one [a professional].”
He said he used his gun for pest control to ensure feral cats, rabbits, and foxes did not destroy crops, and said he stored his firearms responsibly and according to the law.
Risks to be considered
National Association of Practicing Psychiatrists president Professor Philip Morris said when making a psychiatric assessment of people for firearm use, the issues specifically related to the individual’s risk must be considered.
“Like many things in life, mental illness does not exclude you from doing things, driving a car or working in a job or whatever else — it’s just a question of what the issues are specifically related to the risk at hand,” Professor Morris said.
“The major issues are to identify whether the person is at risk of using the firearm against themselves for suicide or other purposes of self-harm, the risk of the person using a firearm against others, and the ability of the person to maintain proper control of the firearm.”
Professor Morris said an individual’s own history with firearms was important, as well as determining whether they had any formal psychiatric illnesses and substance use patterns with alcohol or drugs.
He said a person’s ability to control their behaviour could be reduced when using drugs and could incite feelings like paranoia.
When systematically approaching a risk assessment, Professor Morris said personality style should also be considered as well as any medications being taken and an individual’s social and domestic circumstances.
Minister says community safety is paramount
Mr Papalia said the gun laws needed to be tightened to protect the community.
“One of the real key indicators of the likelihood of a woman or family suffering violence [or] being killed in a domestic violence situation is the presence of a firearm in the house,” he said.
Mr Papalia also said the mental health checks could prevent suicides.
People who were identified as living with a significant mental health condition during the checks would be offered support.
“In the event that this process identifies an issue, then what we want the system to enable is a pathway to seeking help,” Mr Papalia said.
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