Aboriginal youth suicide in Quebec: the contribution of public policy for prevention.
The high rate of youth suicide in some First Nations villages of Northern Quebec is an important public health problem. Based on a six-year field study in three villages belonging to the Atikamekw and Anishinabe groups, this paper proposes changes in three areas of social policy that could contribute to prevention of youth suicide. These three areas are: youth protection, administration of justice, and housing. An argument is made first to adapt the youth protection law of Quebec and to give greater responsibility to communities in individual cases in order to prevent child placement outside the villages. Regarding the administration of justice, we suggest initiatives to encourage rapid prosecution of crimes on reserves and the adoption of an approach based on reconciliation between perpetrator and victim. Finally, we indicate how housing measures could help safeguard children's wellbeing given that overcrowding can contribute to suicide. The discussion also proposes that these three key changes in social policy could be relevant in other Aboriginal communities both within and outside of Quebec.
['Tousignant|Michel|M|', 'Vitenti|Livia|L|', 'Morin|Nathalie|N|']
D000293:Adolescent D003415:Crime D016208:Databases, Factual D005260:Female D006798:Housing D006801:Humans D007198:Indians, North American D008297:Male D011640:Public Policy D036301:Qualitative Research D011792:Quebec D012959:Socioeconomic Factors D013405:Suicide D055815:Young Adult
Aboriginal Youth Suicide Prevention Social Policy