Friends of two teenage girls who apparently committed suicide together in bushland outside Melbourne are also at "huge risk" of harming themselves, a psychologist says.
The bodies of friends Stephanie Gestier and Jodie Gater, both 16-year-old students from Belgrave, in Melbourne's east, were found on Sunday in the Dandenong Ranges National Park.
The girls are believed to have been found hanging from a tree branch in an apparent suicide pact.
As their friends placed tributes on the girls' personal websites, Dr Michael Carr-Greg, an ambassador for the national depression awareness group beyondblue, said their deaths would now put their friends at increased risk of suicide.
"Yes, this puts all their friends at huge risk," he told Southern Cross Broadcasting.
"We know that having someone close to you commit suicide is a risk factor in and of itself, and I imagine that Upwey High School (where the girls attended) is full of counsellors at the moment.
"I'm sure there's people working out there with the young people to make sure they understand that suicide is not a solution."
Jodie Gater had a Myspace website called Hoodlum with a profile that reads: "Let Steph n me b free".
Cyber friends left tributes on the site on Sunday.
One contributor, Matt, said: "R.I.P girl. Goanna miss you lots. I love you and i'll never forget you".
Another said: "if it's true R.I.P. ill miss you and all the memories from primary skool. xoxo".
A third said Jodie would be forever missed. "Peace out, n take care. Will be thinking of you.xXx."
Those who knew Jodie expressed their shock at her disappearance last Sunday.
"dude where r ya i saw ur pic in the paper," one concerned friend said on the website. "u beta be at work on satday other wise itl be no fun wit out u."
Another friend pleaded for Jodie to return.
"where the f*** are you people are worry about you. please tell us where you are."
Jodie's MySpace page included an image of a glass full of absinthe and the words "let us blow your mind".
The last message she posted on the site was dedicated to her boyfriend, Allan.
"I luv you sooo soo much Allan, Miss u heaps and heaps xoxoxo I will always remember u," the teenager wrote.
A picture of Jodie and Allan kissing was posted next to the message.
Jodie last updated her page on April 14, a day before she and Stephanie went missing.
The page features a flashing message that says "f*** this world/everything that you stand for/don't accept/don't give a shit/don't ever judge me".
Dr Carr-Greg said a joint suicide pact between girls was rare.
"It's very, very unusual to have girls kill themselves and particularly kill themselves in this way," he said.
"So my only conclusion is that they must have been depressed."
The Melbourne high school where the suspected suicide were students is "devastated" by their deaths.
Upwey High School principal Greg Holman has released a media statement about the tragedy.
"The Upwey High School community is devastated by the tragic deaths of two of our Year 11 students," the statement reads.
"One of the strengths of our school community is that we are a tight-knit group who will support each other in these difficult times."
Mr Holman said the education department would provide ongoing counselling support.
"These counsellors are already working with students and staff, and will continue to support the whole school community," he said.
"Our deepest thoughts and sympathies are with the grieving families, relatives and friends of Stephanie and Jodie."
Two former state premiers have also expressed at the deaths.
Former West Australian premier Geoff Gallop, who quit politics last year citing depression, spoke of the tragedy at the release of the results of a depression survey in Melbourne.
"We never know the circumstances of these things, unfortunately," Professor Gallop said.
"But what we do know is that there are a lot of pressures now in our community, and some individuals who have a predisposition to depression find (some) circumstances too difficult to cope with."
Professor Gallop is now director of the Graduate School of Government, at the University of Sydney.
He said the families of the young girls would be devastated.
"The trauma associated with these tragedies cannot be underestimated, and our hearts go out to everyone that is involved," he said.
Former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett, now chairman of the national depression initiative beyondblue, said the deaths were "tragic" and would have a tremendous impact on the girls' families.
"As a parent, the greatest thing I fear is to be pre-deceased by a child under any circumstances," Mr Kennett said.
"To be pre-deceased in these circumstances is awful and I do feel so desperately for the families involved," he said.
"We don't know the circumstances in this particular case.
"But I do say to people we've got to handle these issues very sensitively."
Mr Kennett said that up to 2,000 Australians committed suicide each year.
"That's more than six a day, that's more than the road toll."
He said those who were left behind were often left wondering why a loved one decided to end their life.
"It is those who are left behind to ask: 'Why, how and what more could we have done?'
"There's no use in apportioning blame, there's nothing you can do in these circumstances."
Counselling for troubled young people is available on the following numbers:
- - Lifeline - 131 114 (cost of a local call)
- - Kids Help Line - 1800 55 1800 (free call)
- - Suicide Prevention Crisis Line - (02) 9331 2000.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/lost-in-cyberspace-fears-over-teen-sites/2007/04/23/1177180567880.html
Lost in cyberspace: fears over teen sites
Jodie Gater (left) and
Stephanie Gestier, whose bodies were found on Sunday.
Photo: MySpace, Larissa Dubecki, April 24, 2007
Photo: MySpace, Larissa Dubecki, April 24, 2007
THE deaths of two teenage girls in an apparent suicide pact has raised fears of copycat self-harming behaviour, influenced by youth subcultures and their use of online networking.
The bodies of Upwey High School students Stephanie Gestier and Jodie Gater, both 16, were found in bushland in the Dandenong Ranges on Sunday.
Psychologists warned yesterday that friends and peers of the girls were now also at risk as a result of the girls' deaths.
"Their friends, their entire year level and kids at those schools in the area who are maybe struggling with personal issues, yes, they're at risk," adolescent psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg warned. "These girls' deaths can act as a catalyst."
Royal Children's Hospital professor of adolescent health George Patton said the internet intensified the risk of suicide contagion, first recognised on the 1774 publication of Goethe's novel The Sorrows of Young Werther, which featured a young man who kills himself over unrequited love. A spate of copycat suicides across Europe led to the book's banning in Germany, Italy and Denmark.
The often-repeated phenomenon was also seen in Japan in 1986 with the suicide of pop star Yukiko Okada. "It's a huge issue in Japan; we haven't seen so much of it yet in Australia," Professor Patton said. "The internet is a powerful new medium where marginalised young people at the risk of suicide, who might not otherwise meet, are able to come into contact. It's providing content such as graphic self-harm sites, which are potentially very dangerous to a lot of these young people. I think we have a real problem."
The growing band of people who have posted suicide notes online - an act known colloquially as a "MySpace suicide" - has led to US organisation Lifeline creating their own MySpace page.
It emerged yesterday that the girls had apparently posted "RIP Jodie and Steph" on the MySpace page of their band, known as Bitchy. Police said they had investigated the page and the message was last logged into on April 14, the day before they disappeared.
Stephanie's mother, meanwhile, went online anonymously yesterday to post a tribute to her daughter.
"Stephanie why didn't you tell me you were so upset," she wrote. "Why didn't you just come home. You had only just turned 16. You were always such a quiet girl, who spent time listening to music and surfing the internet. There is nothing that couldn't have been sorted out. You were my only child and can never be replaced. Bye bye, my little girl."
The shocking end to the search for the two girls, who went missing the previous Sunday after saying they were going shopping, has cast the spotlight on the youth subculture known as emo, with which the girls identified, and its presence on the internet on popular networking sites such as MySpace.
Emo, short for "emotional", references the angst-ridden lyrics of bands such as AFI and Dashboard Confessional. The youth subculture, which has roots in the goth movement, is mocked by outsiders for the melodramatic and moody introspection of its members.
Self-harm, a risk factor for suicide, has become common among adolescents, particularly girls in emo and goth cliques. Between one in 10 and one in 20 girls aged about 14 and 15 engaged in some form of self-harm, Professor Patton said.
Dr Carr-Gregg said it was simplistic to blame suicide on the subcultures and their emphasis on alienation and loneliness. "It's just one risk factor. There are key protection factors in between, such as friends, family, a sense of connectedness," he said.
Both experts said it was important for parents to communicate with their teenagers and let them know they were loved. "Don't let them disappear behind this emotional firewall called MSN," Dr Carr-Gregg said. "There are many factors that lead to suicide but parents should make sure they know what their kids are doing online." Upwey High School principal Greg Holman said the school community was "devastated" and students were being offered counselling.
With DAN OAKES
For help or information visit beyondblue.org.au, call Suicide Helpline Victoria on 1300 651 251 or Lifeline on 131 114.
