Suicide: Feature Reporting 2
POLICY ISSUES:
More are more institutions and authorities in Canada are moving towards being far more open about suicide and their policies around it, largely because they are recognizing that policies of silence, or of saying as little as possible, have not reduced the problem. In 2019 the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), which runs the city's subways and buses, became one of the latest authorities to break with that tradition and overhaul its approach. They are not alone. Other transit authorities have led the way, and - as mentioned in the incident reporting section - so are some universities.
Ioanna Roumeliotis was granted broad access to the TTC's deliberations and staff as the new policy was being devised and implemented, for CBC News: The National. Soon after the feature was broadcast, she joined the Forum's keynote panel at the 2019 CASP national conference. She explained how such access came about and why old concepts about reporting on suicide issues need to change as well.
Watch Ioanna's feature story, produced by Melissa Mancini, broadcast on 10 September 2019: CBC News: The National – Breaking the Silence of Subway Suicide
LOOKING "UPSTREAM”
It has long been understood that a wide variety of social circumstances can contribute to depression. Since around 60% of suicide victims are estimated to have suffered from depression, dealing effectively with social needs such as providing more affordable housing and increasing early access to mental health treatments holds considerable promise of eventual reduction in suicide rates.
Features that draw attention to upstream causes of suicide should, of course, avoid implying that suicide is an acceptable or inevitable outcome for people experiencing them. It is not enough, nor is it ethical, to expose the problem and leave the story there. Constructing a responsible narrative arc includes signposting what people whose lives are affected, or policy-makers at various levels, could do or are doing to reduce the deadly impact. That makes for better journalism on any topic, but reporting about suicide imposes extra moral responsibility on us, because lives are at stake.
A 2017 policy paper of the Canadian Psychiatric Association suggests that more than 40 suicide deaths a year might be avoided is all journalists adhered strictly to what it calls its media guidelines. That outcome would be a good thing, of course, but as the paper also acknowledges 40 suicides represent just over 1% of the annual Canadian total. Every death matters, including the other 98% plus. Mindset maintains that journalists whose work brings attention to the "upsteam" causes of suicide should take great care to minimize potential contagion, without losing sight of this perspective.
Given all we now know, falling back on the safety of the old reporting taboo is clearly no longer a responsible course. Striking the right balance of judgement will at times be hard, and even the most responsible journalists are not infallible, but looking the other way cannot be a more ethical approach than carefully exercising our best judgement in the broad public interest.