Abstract
Media reporting on suicide may have harmful and/or protective effects on deaths by suicide, depending on the nature of the coverage. Canada’s first forum on this important issue was held in Toronto on November 6, 2015. Participating in the forum were public health policy-makers, mental health and suicide prevention experts and senior media representatives. This commentary summarizes the content of the forum and highlights the need for ongoing collaboration between suicide prevention experts and media professionals aimed at safe and respectful reporting that maintains the public’s need to be informed.
Key Words: Suicide, mass media, imitative behavior
Résumé
La couverture médiatique du suicide peut avoir des effets nocifs et/ou protecteurs sur les décès par suicide, selon la nature des reportages. Le premier forum canadien sur cette importante question s’est tenu à Toronto le 6 novembre 2015. Il a rassemblé des responsables des politiques de santé publique, des spécialistes en santé mentale et en prévention du suicide et des hauts représentants des médias. Notre commentaire résume le contenu du forum et souligne la nécessité d’une collaboration continue entre les spécialistes en prévention du suicide et les professionnels des médias afin de soutenir un journalisme sûr et respectueux tout en tenant compte du besoin d’informer la population.
Mots Clés: suicide, mass-médias, comportement d’imitation
Footnotes
Conflict of Interest: None to declare.
Acknowledgements: We thank the staff at Toronto Public Health and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre for organizing the event. We thank the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention whose generous grant support (Grant YIG-0-131-13 awarded to Mark Sinyor) was instrumental in the collaboration between Dr. Pirkis and those of us who are researchers in Canada. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
References
- 1.Crane C, Hawton K, Simkin S, Coulter P. Suicide and the media: Pitfalls and prevention. Report on a meeting organized by the Reuters Foundation Program at Green College and University of Oxford Centre for Suicide Research at Green College, Oxford, UK, November 18, 2003. Crisis. 2005;26(1):42–47. doi: 10.1027/0227-5910.26.1.42. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 2.Chambers DA, Pearson JL, Lubell K, Brandon S, O’Brien K, Zinn J. The science of public messages for suicide prevention: A workshop summary. Suicide Life Threat Behav. 2005;35(2):134–45. doi: 10.1521/suli.35.2.134.62871. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 3.Statistics Canada. Ten Leading Causes of Death by Selected Age Groups, by Sex, Canada–15 to 24 Years. 2009. [Google Scholar]
- 4.Toronto Public Health. Suicide Prevention in Toronto. Toronto, ON: TPH; 2014. [Google Scholar]
- 5.McLean J, Maxwell M, Platt S, Harris F, Jepson R. Risk and Protective Factors for Suicide and Suicidal Behaviour: A Literature Review. 2008. [Google Scholar]
- 6.Niederkrotenthaler T, Voracek M, Herberth A, Till B, Strauss M, Etzersdorfer E, et al. Role of media reports in completed and prevented suicide: Werther v. Papageno effects. Br J Psychiatry. 2010;197(3):234–43. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.109.074633. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 7.Jamieson P, Jamieson KH, Romer D. The responsible reporting of suicide in print journalism. Am Behav Sci. 2003;46:1643–60. doi: 10.1177/0002764203254620. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
- 8.Bandura A. Self-efficacy: Towards a unifying theory of behavioural change. Psychol Rev. 1977;84:191–215. doi: 10.1037/0033-295X.84.2.191. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 9.Tousignant M, Mishara BL, Caillaud A, Fortin V, St-Laurent D. The impact of media coverage of the suicide of a well-known Quebec reporter: The case of Gaëtan Girouard. Soc Sci Med. 2005;60(9):1919–26. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.08.054. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 10.Pirkis J, Blood RW, Beautrais A, Burgess P, Skehans J. Media guidelines on the reporting of suicide. Crisis. 2006;27(2):82–87. doi: 10.1027/0227-5910.27.2.82. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 11.Nepon J, Fotti S, Katz LY, Sareen J, Swampy Cree Suicide Prevention Team . Can J Psychiatry. 2009. Canadian Psychiatric Association Position Paper: Media guidelines for reporting suicide; pp. 1–5. [Google Scholar]
- 12.Hawton K, Saunders KE, O’Connor RC. Self-harm and suicide in adolescents. Lancet. 2012;379(9834):2373–82. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60322-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 13.Hunter Institute of Mental Health. Reporting Suicide and Mental Illness: A Mindframe Resource for Media Professionals. 2014. [Google Scholar]
- 14.Pirkis J, Dare A, Blood RW, Rankin B, Williamson M, Burgess P, et al. Changes in media reporting of suicide in Australia between 2000/01 and 2006/07. Crisis. 2009;30(1):25–33. doi: 10.1027/0227-5910.30.1.25. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 15.PLoS ONE. 2015.