Five Aboriginal girls aged between 12 and 15 have died by suicide in the first two weeks of January, as health care specialists warn of an escalation in self-harm within Indigenous communities.

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Unlike similar cases of self-harm in the past, the most recent deaths were not geographically-specific. That is, they occurred across the country, in Townsville, Perth, Port Hedland, Adelaide and the East Kimberley community of Warmun.

"It is horrific," CEO of Culture is Life and Wotjobaluk woman Belinda Duarte, told Hack.

"It's one of those [stories] that's absolutely devastating to hear, and when you think of the age of these young people, how can your heart not be ripped out for that little person, their family and the communities they are in," she said.

Suicide generally is on the increase, and there's some disturbing research coming through on the prevalence of self-harm and suicide for young people.

Suicide rates for Indigenous people across all age groups are more than three times that of non-Indigenous Australians, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. But when you drill down into age-specific data, the picture is much more disturbing.

Suicide is the leading cause of death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged between 5 and 17. It accounts for 40 per cent of deaths in this age group.

Until last year, Indigenous youth suicide was specific to young Aboriginal men. In fact, in 2017, no suicides were recorded for Aboriginal women younger than the age of 15.

"It's really confronting and it rips your heart out," Belinda said.

So why is this happening now?

It's virtually impossible to pin down just one reason for suicide and self-harm, but organisations like Belinda's are trying to get young people to share their experiences so we can build a better picture.

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Late last year, Perth hosted the second ever World Indigenous Suicide Prevention Conference.

Will Austin from Culture is Life led an Australian youth delegation, and said there were similar trends in First Nation's people dying by suicide around the world.

"I don't think people realise the commonalities in the past history of the countries, and the result of those histories... results in similar issues like suicide," he told Hack.

And the shockingly high prevalence of suicide in communities has a devastating ripple effect which can in turn impact a community's well-being.

"These suicides do affect every First Nations person and every family, because we know the impact it has.

"It hinders knowledge from being passed down, it hinders other young people from connecting with their cultural lives. It's indescribable," Will said.

He said it's crucial to hear young people's voices.

"It makes sense to have young people around the table, because they know the life they're living and they in many cases know the solutions," Will said.

"They have knowledge and perspective that the elders may not have about today's society."

'If you don't address racism, nothing will change'

Belinda said the shocking youth suicide rates were "a race issue".

"If we sent our young people out into an environment that says, we don't value you, you aren't being affirmed. Or at worse, you experience overt or covert racism, nothing will change," she said.

"Witnessing what happened on St Kilda beach, and the race hate rally that went on down there... How is it that as a country we're willing to tolerate behaviours that incite race hate, like a Hitler salute and march, what message does that say to the community about what we will tolerate?"

She said the lead up to Australia Day - which many Aboriginal people label 'Invasion Day' because it marks the arrival of the First Fleet to Australia - is especially painful to Indigenous people.

The system is currently failing us. If the system is meant to serve the family of Australia, it's failing.

Will agreed. He said in order to fix the devastating youth suicide crisis, Aboriginal voices need to be front and centre of the debate.

"We need to be believed in as a people to do what's right for our own people."

The impact of intergenerational trauma

Bernice Hookey has had more than her fair share of trauma in her life. She lost two siblings before the age of 19, saw her parents battle through grief, and escaped a domestic violence relationship when she was a young adult.

But it was the breakdown of another romantic relationship in 2015 that nearly sent her over the edge.

"It was the grief and depression that nearly killed me," she told Hack.

Bernice had pushed down the trauma in her past, ignoring it and hoping it would go away. But it didn't.

It's like a leaking poison that comes through you when you bring up that [unpleasant] emotion... I tried to shut it down with alcohol.

She describes herself as a survivor of suicide, because when she was on the brink of hurting herself, she pulled herself back off the edge.

"I spoke to my mum, I said I need help. Then I got psychological help," she said.

Bernice now works with troubled kids as part of a cultural mentorship program in Townsville.

She said not dealing with past traumas - including intergenerational trauma - is contributing to the youth Indigenous suicide crisis.

(Intergenerational trauma refers to a complex handling of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, in which future generations feel the pain of what's come before them. For example, if you're a member of the Stolen Generations who was taken from a hospital when you were a child, you may hand down to your kids a distrust of authority and reluctance to seek medical help. That in turn manifests in worse health for future generations, that's informed by trauma.)

Intergenerational trauma can also see Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people disconnect from their roots - another risk factor in self-harm, Bernice said.

"It's a lot to do with not understanding their cultural beliefs and where they're from and who their mob are. That's intergenerational trauma, and that's heartbreaking," she said.