By Abdurrahman Ashiru
Mental Health literacy campaigns including responsible media reporting of suicide must be relentlessly evident and colour Journalists engagement with the public as much as possible. This is due to the pivotal role they play plus the tremendous influence they command in shaping our society for good or otherwise.
What prompted this write up is a video post on social media handles belonging to arguably some of the highly respected and trusted News Outlets in Nigeria depicting explicitly how a young person jumped into the infamous Lagos lagoon that keeps claiming the lives of Nigerians as a result of suicide.
Suicide is a serious public health problem with far-reaching emotional, social and economic consequences. While the factors contributing to suicide are complex and not completely understood, there is evidence, however, to suggest media play an important role. As a result, vulnerable individuals engage in imitative behaviour particularly if the coverage is extensive as is the case in the video flying everywhere on various social media platforms.
It has always been the case as far as responsible media reporting of suicide is concerned, photographs or video footage of the suicidal behaviour or scenes should not be used, especially if doing so makes the location or method very prominent to the viewers or readers.
Headlines should be carefully crafted. It is a well-known fact that headlines are intended to attract the reader’s interest by capturing the substance of the news in as few words as possible. The use of the term “suicide” in the headline, as well as specific references to the method or location of the suicide, should be avoided.
It’s important at this juncture to state that, there are instances when suicide needs to be reported due to its newsworthiness. Nevertheless, caution must be exercised by demonstrating the highest level of professionalism through responsible reporting as well as using the avenue to educate the public about suicide and to encourage those at risk to seek help.
In the late 18th century, the earliest evidence of the media’s impact on suicidal behaviour was observed. In 1774, Goethe wrote The Sorrows of Young Werther, a novel in which the hero kills himself after falling in love with a woman who is out of reach. Following its publication, the novel was attributed to a rash of suicides across Europe; many of those who died were dressed in Werther’s style, used his method, or were discovered with a copy of the book. As a result, the book was banned in many European countries.
As it is, suicide is the second leading cause of death globally, more than war, conflict and communal clashes combined. World Health Organisation estimates close to 1 million cases of suicide occur every year. This is to say someone, somewhere is committing suicide every 40 seconds.
Alys Cole-King in his paper about suicide prevention stated that “Suicide is not the inevitable outcome of suicidal thoughts. Suicidal thoughts occur in response to emotional and physical pain. The vast majority of suicidal people are highly ambivalent about living and dying, but the degree of their emotional pain sometimes prevents them from considering alternative options to suicide” Most people just want to feel better, rather than end their life. Therefore, increasing hopefulness, resilience and reasons for a living have been shown to reduce suicide risk.
Without any attempt to point fingers at or accuse the person who videotaped this index person attempting to jump into the lagoon of complacency, he/she could have saved him by acting in the same way this video footage was carefully taken.
Life is the most sacred entity created by God and only Him gives or takes it away. One of the fundamental functions of mental health professionals is the prevention of suicide and the general public should know that there is always help whenever they feel suicidal or going through severe emotional or physical pain.
Suicide prevention requires everyone to act and to act fast because when life is lost, nothing can bring it back. The relatives of the deceased should be condoled and sympathised with instead of stigmatizing and calling them with unprintable names.
The Lagos State Government should as a matter of urgency ban loitering around the Lagoon with a heavy sanction when found culpable. These will not only prevent impulsive suicidal attempts but also help buy time for professionals to institute appropriate interventions to forestall the occurrence of suicide.
This index video circulating on various social media platforms should be removed as soon as possible.
