Monash University, Melbourne, Vic Australia.
Soc Sci Med. 2012 Feb;74(4):515-22. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.04.036. Epub 2010 May 25.
The rate of suicide amongst Australia's rural men is significantly higher than rural women, urban men or urban women. There are many explanations for this phenomenon including higher levels of social isolation, lower socio-economic circumstances and ready access to firearms. Another factor is the challenge of climate transformation for farmers. In recent times rural areas of Australia have been subject to intense climate change events including a significant drought that has lingered on for over a decade. Climate variability together with lower socio-economic conditions and reduced farm production has combined to produce insidious impacts on the health of rural men. This paper draws on research conducted over several years with rural men working on farms to argue that attention to the health and well-being of rural men requires an understanding not only of these factors but also of the cultural context, inequitable gender relations and a dominant form of masculine hegemony that lauds stoicism in the face of adversity. A failure to address these factors will limit the success of health and welfare programs for rural men.
澳大利亚农村男性的自杀率明显高于农村女性、城市男性和城市女性。这种现象有很多解释，包括更高水平的社会孤立、较低的社会经济状况和更容易获得枪支。另一个因素是农民面临的气候转型挑战。近年来，澳大利亚农村地区遭受了强烈的气候变化事件的影响，包括持续了十多年的严重干旱。气候变异性以及较低的社会经济条件和减少的农业生产，共同对农村男性的健康产生了潜在的影响。本文借鉴了多年来与在农场工作的农村男性进行的研究，认为要关注农村男性的健康和福祉，不仅需要了解这些因素，还需要了解文化背景、不平等的性别关系以及一种主导的男性霸权形式，这种形式赞扬在逆境面前的坚忍不拔。如果不解决这些因素，将限制农村男性健康和福利计划的成功。
