Kota Kinabalu: Print and online news sites need to stop writing about how people kill themselves, as these details can push struggling readers to do the same thing, according to Psychiatrist Dr Ravivarma Rao Panirselvam.
Dr Ravivarma from Zero Suicide Sarawak said media outlets should control themselves instead of waiting for the government to make strict laws.
“We need to champion for self-regulation. Malaysia is one that uses it very bravely whereby we do not want to stop free speech, but we want to help people choose better and be more aware,” he said at the “Together Saving Lives” talk held, here, recently.
The talk was organised by the National Council of Befrienders Malaysia with help from the Ministry of Health, Yayasan Hasanah and the Ministry of Finance. It is part of a nationwide effort to teach better ways of reporting on suicide.
Dr Ravivarma said when news stories tell how someone died, which building they used or which floor they jumped from, it gives dangerous ideas to people who are already hurting.
“When you keep showing people using that place to die by suicide, you put that idea into a person’s head.
“Vulnerable people might think “Oh, this particular floor in this building has an access, has a landing and that could be where I could die”. That is the sort of access you are creating,” he said.
He said suicide does not just affect one person. Studies show that every suicide death hurts 135 people around them, from families, friends, workmates and even neighbours. Worldwide, that means 98 million people are affected by suicide.
Dr Ravivarma also spoke against news reports that make suicide look like it has one simple reason.
“If you put poverty equals suicide, bully equals suicide, that becomes a really problematic story because suicides are very complex,” he said, pointing out that suicide happens because of many tangled problems, not just one thing.
He noted several problems he often sees in Malaysian news, some of it includes articles that paste helpline numbers that do not work anymore or list Kuala Lumpur phone numbers for stories happening in Sabah or Sarawak.
“Story in Sabah but no Sabah resource. Story in Sarawak but all the resources are in Kuala Lumpur. How are people going to use this?” he said.
Dr Ravivarma also said private suicide notes and last messages should never be shared in news reports.
Additionally, he said comment sections on suicide stories often fill up with people calling victims weak or selfish and young people reading these comments might believe them.
“I have seen it once, transgender suicide and people saying ‘good that this person does not exist anymore’. People have said that and it gained loads of Likes. Imagine that being read by a young person,” he said.
Thus, he encourages journalists write more about hope and people who got help and are now doing better.
“Good stories, if you tell them right, can sell really well. Why are we taking the easier route? Because our brain tends to respond to scary news better, but we can use the smarter part of our brain. Let us help people use that,” he said.
He suggested turning off comments on suicide articles and making sure working phone numbers for local mental health services are included.
“When readers spot a news story with dangerous details about suicide methods, they should politely tell the editor.
“Editors are not scary. Police are not frightening. Psychiatrists do not eat humans. Start to get to know them and start to communicate,” he said.
“Safe reporting and safe messaging are actually a journey. We must help each other regulate ourselves and that is not censorship. In your communities, get to know your people, start working with self-regulation. It is possible,” he added.
If you or someone you know needs help, contact Befrienders Kota Kinabalu at 088-255 788 or 016-803 6945 (7pm-10pm daily),
Facebook.com/befrienderskk or befrienderskk@gmail.com.
Services are free and confidential.
