Spike in drowning deaths in WA school children

The National Drowning Report released by the Royal Life Saving Society and Surf Life Saving found drowning deaths in Western Australian children aged 5 to 14 is the highest it’s been in the past decade, with three children losing their lives last year.
 
Peter Leaversuch, Royal Life Saving WA CEO, says this is particularly concerning as historically this age group has the lowest rate of drowning. 

“The number of school aged drownings in WA is terribly sad and confronting. Royal Life Saving is deeply concerned that children are missing out on swim lessons due to increasing cost of living pressures. As a community we must do everything possible to ensure we don’t have a generation of children who are non-swimmers,” he said.
 
On the back of this critical evidence, Royal Life Saving is calling on the WA Government to increase its investment in the highly effective ‘in-term’ swimming and water safety program run by the Department of Education. 
 
“The WA Government could take a significant step toward saving young lives and promoting safe participation in aquatic pursuits by doubling the current funding for the highly effective ‘in-term’ swimming and water safety program,” says Peter Leaversuch.

Nationally, there was 339 drowning deaths in the past year, the highest drowning toll in more than 25 years.
 
“Royal Life Saving is deeply saddened by another tragic increase in drowning, with the pandemic and the wet, hot weather combining to create a terrible year for drowning on waterways. This is the worst year for drowning since 1996,” says Justin Scarr, Royal Life Saving Society Australia CEO.

In WA, 39 people lost their lives to drowning, which is the same toll as last year and an 8% increase on the 10-year average.

Behind these numbers are countless families, friends and communities grieving the loss of loved ones or living with the effects of a non-fatal drowning. Today and every day, Royal Life Saving seeks to honour their memory by working to prevent drowning.

To read the full report, please visit the link below.