CO-CHAIRS:
The relationship and understanding of the impact of the media on suicide, in particular suicide contagion, continues to be a primary challenge for the field of suicidology. For several decades and with more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, we can confidently say that how the media portrays suicide impacts suicide-related behaviours in others. As part of the public health approach to suicide prevention through awareness, education and training, advancing the knowledge about this relationship and how to engage with the media remains a priority around the world.
Media-related suicide contagion, often referred to as the “Werther effect,” is a significant public health problem. As a result, the WHO recommends, and most countries that have developed national suicide prevention strategies have included the development of media guidelines on safe reporting of suicide that have attempted to promote accurate, responsible and ethical reporting of suicide in the media.
These guidelines have arisen from a substantial body of evidence that suggests that media reporting and portrayal of suicide, including, for example, descriptions of suicide methods or locations, have the potential to encourage imitative behaviour among vulnerable individuals. There is a clear need to help journalists and those working in the legacy news industry understand how to safely report on suicide to increase what Professor Niederkrotenthaler coined the “Papageno Effect.” Research and work by IASP’s Suicide and the Media SIG leadership and members has demonstrated that through the Papageno effect, media reports that include messages of hope, resilience, mastery over crisis and treatment can reduce the likelihood of suicide contagion. Thus, ongoing collaboration with media professionals on this issue is critical to saving more lives. Further, creating implementation guidelines for how media organisations can effectively follow these safety practices is the future for this SIG.
As the world has changed and many get their news and information online, the Suicide and the Media SIG has also adapted and included social media as part of their work. SIG members regularly consult and advise major, global social media companies, conduct research around social media and its impact on users, and our SIG leaders, Dr Reidenberg and Niederkrotenthaler, create special guidance on social media-related issues, such as viral challenges, artificial intelligence, etc.
OBJECTIVES:
- To improve linkages between suicide experts and media professionals.
- To systematically review research about suicide and the traditional as well as social media (including evaluations of media guidelines), to identify gaps in knowledge, to develop a research agenda to address these gaps, and to encourage relevant research.
- To identify, collect and collate media guidelines which have been developed around the world, and examine and report on their content, development and implementation.
- To work collaboratively with media professionals to develop recommendations for developing and implementing media guidelines.
- To work collaboratively with media professionals to promote media guidelines to journalists, editors and other stakeholders.
- To work on prevention of suicide using online media.
- To provide an international body of experts that can provide authoritative comment on issues regarding suicide and the media, including issues surrounding media guidelines and both traditional and newer “emergent” media.
2024 ACTIVITIES:
- We engaged members in the development of the new best practice guidance tool for medical examiners and first responders.
- SIG members were involved in the dissemination of WSPD messaging.
- We organized conference submissions to ESSSB20.
- We will submit proposals for joint symposia for the world conference in Vienna in 2025
2023 ACTIVITIES:
- The SIG chairs and selected members had a call on the spread of novel methods via media based on the controversies around the reporting of a lawsuit in several countries – related to this, and the editorial was published in Crisis; see: Sinyor, M., Fraser, L., Reidenberg, D., Yip, P. S. F., & Niederkrotenthaler, T. (2024). The Kenneth Law media event – A dangerous natural experiment.
- We collaborated on updating and revising the WHO Media Guidelines.
- SIG meetings took place at the IASP 32nd World Congress in Piran.
Best Practices for Medico-Legal Professionals Who Work with the Media
A new set of best practices, “Best Practices for Medico-Legal Professionals Who Work with the Media,” has been released by leading experts Daniel J. Reidenberg, Psy.D., Mark Sinyor, M.D., and Thomas Niederkrotenthaler, Ph.D., MMSc. This comprehensive guide aims to support law enforcement, medical examiners, coroners, forensic experts, and public health information officers in effectively and responsibly working with the media on sensitive issues surrounding suicide.
Drawing from a broad body of international research, the recommendations focus on minimising the risk of suicide contagion (imitative suicide) by providing guidance on the safe handling of information about suicide methods, locations, and data. It emphasises the importance of delivering messages that highlight hope and recovery, thereby potentially reducing suicide rates.
Medico-legal professionals play a key role in shaping public understanding of suicide through their interactions with the media, and this set of best practices is designed to ensure that such communications are safe, ethical, and in line with international standards.
MEDIA GUIDELINES FROM COUNTRIES:
If you would like to join this SIG, please fill in the contact form below:
