The tragedy of suicide: good journalism can help

The recent apparent suicide of a teenage girl who didn't have a birth certificate occupied the front pages of many major local newspapers. Some of the coverage explored the complex issues around the case but much of it was insensitive and lurid. Sharing personal Facebook posts and speculating as to how they might explain suicidal actions, as one newspaper did, is not helpful. It encourages an oversimplified interpretation of events, and also shows a lack of consideration for distress caused to the victim's family and friends.

The episode shows that more needs to be done to encourage responsible journalism.

Much research has been done around the world which shows how media reporting on suicide can affect the behaviour of vulnerable individuals. Our own research reveals that insensitive reporting can contribute to an increase in suicides. Young people, who are prone to peer influence, are especially likely to be affected by public accounts of suicide, particularly if they have similar backgrounds.

To address this, some countries and regions have passed laws to protect children and adolescents' rights. For instance, Taiwan prohibits its press from reporting details of a child's or adolescent's suicide. Reporting on youth suicides is also rare in the West.

Besides legal regulations, the World Health Organisation and the International Association for Suicide Prevention have published guidelines for media reporting suicide, and similar guidelines have also been adopted in many countries. Our centre also introduced such guidelines to Hong Kong in 2004 and kept engaging local media professionals to report suicide news more responsibly.

The recommendations include not publishing photographs or suicide notes, not reporting specific details of the death, not giving simplistic reasons for suicide, not glorifying or sensationalising it, not using religious or cultural stereotypes, and not apportioning blame.