Editorial: Media can help fight this scourge

In a land of plenty it is a tragedy that so many people choose to end their lives each year, The Dominion Post writes.  It is a tragedy also that their deaths receive so little attention.

In 2005 - the most recent year for which figures are available - 502 New Zealanders killed themselves. That's an average of almost 10 a week, more than are killed on the country's roads. Yet the public reads and hears infinitely more about road safety than it does about suicide. That is because suicide experts have succeeded in convincing politicians that talking about suicide increases the risk of copycat deaths.

Reducing the suicide rate is undoubtedly a bigger challenge than reducing the road toll. Suicide is a more complex issue. As Associate Health Minister Jim Anderton noted at the National Suicide Prevention Symposium last week: "There's not a safety belt you can wear". Nor is there a speed limit that can be brought down or a dangerous corner that can be straightened. But there is more that can be done, and the news media can play a part.

To the Government's credit, there are signs it is becoming more open-minded and more proactive about the issue.

The symposium featured a robust discussion about the media's role and the Government has increased suicide prevention funding from $28,000 five years ago to $23 million today. Particularly effective has been the depression campaign featuring former All Blacks golden boy John Kirwan. It has shown that depression can afflict people in all walks of life and that it is okay to ask for help.

But suicide remains a taboo subject, partly because of the restrictions on the media. Those restrictions force news outlets to use euphemisms such as, "the police are not seeking anyone else in connection with the incident" when reporting suspected suicides. They also impose severe limits on what can be reported from coroners' hearings.

If the restrictions worked they would be justified, but international figures show that, in addition to having one of the more restrictive reporting regimes in the developed world, New Zealand also has one of the higher suicide rates.

Of the 13 countries in an OECD survey, only Finland, Japan and France have higher suicide rates among men. Only Japan, Finland, France and Norway have higher rates among women.

International comparisons have to be treated with caution. Countries record self-inflicted death in different ways. Nevertheless, the study suggests New Zealand authorities are wasting precious time and resources worrying about the way the media reports suicide.

Contrary to suspicions in some quarters, this is not an issue the news media wishes to trivialise or sensationalise. Journalists are parents too and The Dominion Post and a number of other media outlets have voluntarily signed a suicide reporting protocol that stresses the importance of focusing on the why rather than the how.

But the news media should be allowed to play its part in highlighting the extent of a scourge that gets far too little attention and informing the public about the issue, the warning signs, and sources of help.

Pretending suicide does not happen has not worked.