Reporting suicide


Bridgend, a Welsh town of around 40,000 people, has been making the news, and the local MP, Madeleine Moon doesn’t like it.

“Absolutely everything I’ve seen from the description of Bridgend as a ‘death town’, ‘suicide town’, talking about suicide ‘cults’ is absolutely disgraceful and has actually created additional risk for young people,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“I’ve got no problem with the media reporting something. What I have is a problem with the breaching of all the guidelines.

“For example, the Samaritan guidelines are very clear that you should never mention the cause of death because what you get is then copycatting.

“There is very clear evidence of this. And what have we got? Huge numbers of headlines here absolutely revelling almost in the cause of death, in the way death took place.”

Is Moon right? Let’s take a look at the Bridgend headlines from the past month.

The Sun and News Of The World:

  • Bridgend’s 14th suicide – February 6, 2008
  • Suicides town in farewell to Tasha – January 31, 2008
  • Police to probe a town’s 13 suicides – January 28, 2008
  • Street of suicide – January 27, 2008
  • Happy Luke new suicide spree victim – January 26, 2008
  • 12 more teens in suicide risk – January 25, 2008
  • Please don’t do what my boy did – January 24, 2008
  • Gloom of dark skies
  • Bebo mates ‘in suicide chain’ – January 23, 2008

The Daily Mail:

  • 14th teenager found hanged in suicide town – February 6, 2008
  • Tragedy of the woman who blamed herself for being raped – January 26, 2008
  • Internet suicide town’s death toll rises to 13 in a year – January 25, 2008
  • A town on suicide watch as toll rises to 13 in just a year
  • I walked in the front door and found my Leah hanging from the stairs. She was breathing but only just; As police probe ‘web suicide cult’, a father recalls his harrowing discovery – January 24, 2008
  • We are creating a generation for whom reality now exists only on a computer screen
  • In just 12 months, seven tragedies in one small town – January 23, 2008
  • THE INTERNET SUICIDE CULT?; Chilling links between seven youngsters found hanged in same town They lived and died online – January 23, 2008
  • Wild child who surfed her way to suicide

The Times:

  • Teenager who planned to marry is Welsh town’s 14th young suicide – February 6, 2008
  • Our love wasn’t enough to stop James killing himself – February 3, 2008
  • Suicide is wrong, vicar tells mourners
  • Suicide: a teen’s way to instant fame: As Bridgend tries to understand why it has a cluster of seven teenage suicides, our correspondent finds bored or desperate youths may see death as the only thrill left – January 27, 2008
  • Scramble to curb suicide websites – January 26, 2008
  • Desperate town asks for National Lottery money to help stop spate of young deaths
  • Darkness visible
  • The Bridgend enigma – January 25, 2008
  • The lethal ‘glamour’ factor
  • What beauty is there in a young life snuffed out?
  • Classmates seek help as another girl in Bridgend tries to commit suicide
  • Fashionable website where teenage suicides are a cause for celebration – January 24, 2008
  • Natasha, 17, is the latest victim in a town hit by seven copycat suicides – January 23, 2008

The Guardian:

  • Media: Sensitivity and suicide: Last week’s coverage of the suspected ‘copycat suicides’ of seven young people in Wales has raised questions about press speculation – January 28, 2008
  • Bridgend suicides: Why did they die so young? Police re-examine files on 13 tragedies: As detectives look again at the deaths, few local people believe the theory of an internet pact – January 26, 2008
  • Taskforce to look into possible links between youth suicides – January 24, 2008
  • Police suspect internet link to suicides: Seven young people found dead in last 12 months Mother urges parents to monitor computer use – January 23, 2008

The Mirror reports focused on the anguish of parents. One paper does stands out, though. Here are the headlines from the Express:

  • ANOTHER GIRL HANGS HERSELF IN DEATH TOWN; Internet cult linked to 14th suicide in a year – February 6, 2008
  • We’re baffled why they do it
  • Suicide No.14 rocks internet cult town
  • Linked by web of despair – January 26, 2008
  • HOW MANY MORE OF OUR CHILDREN WILL SUCCUMB TO THE SUICIDE CULT?; As experts believe as many as 13 young people have now committed suicide in Bridgend, we reveal how panic has taken hold of the town, with families fearful for their own children – January 25, 2008
  • Dangers that lurk on friends’ websites – January 24, 2008
  • Suicide is ‘cool’ says friend of death cult gang
  • Seven die in suicide ‘craze’; Fears of death cult with links to web chat sites – January 23, 2008

Does reporting create additional risk for young people? The Samaritans guidelines (linked above), which start badly by suggesting reporters use such sterile expressions as “person at risk of suicide”, are actually quite sensible:

Avoid explicit or technical details of suicide in reports. Reporting that a person died from carbon monoxide poisoning is not in itself harmful, however providing details of the mechanism and procedure used to carry out the suicide may lead to the imitation of suicidal behaviour by other people at risk. Particular care should be taken in specifying the type and number of tablets used in an overdose.

The reports of hanging all point out that it is a painful and violent way to die.

My answer to Ms Moon? The dead are immune to blame, but the media often provide a useful and cathartic cat to kick in times of trouble.

But is that response good enough? How about this fascinating account from Hong Kong in 2002, which appeared as a letter in the British Medical Journal:

In Nov 1998, a 35-year old woman left a suicide note and burnt charcoal in a barbecue grill within her sealed and cramped apartment. This swiftly generated a lethal level of carbon monoxide. The incident including the methodology of the act was pictorially reported in the local news headlines.

Nine similar cases followed and were reported the subsequent month. Compared to jumping that had accounted for most suicide deaths in Hong Kong, charcoal burning suicide appeared to have been romanticized as an easy, effective and comfortable way of ending life that could happen within one’s home.

Two months after its first appearance, charcoal burning became the third commonest method of suicide in Hong Kong. In 2001 it has replaced hanging as the second commonest method of suicide, accounting for 25% of all suicide deaths.

Prior to the emergence of the method, carbon monoxide poisoning was uncommon in Hong Kong. This might be due to explosions caused by domestic coal gas suicide claiming innocent casualties. Moreover, the limited ownership of private vehicles precludes automobile exhaust poisoning.

Victims of charcoal burning were often portrayed as debt-ridden as Hong Kong was experiencing its first recession after two decades of continuous economic boom. Charcoal burning was represented as a legitimate way out of the suicidees’ financial predicaments.

Based on a study of the first 100 cases of charcoal burning suicides using data collected by the Coroner’s Court, we found that the profiles of the victims were highly compatible with media representations, involving mostly adults aged 25- 54(88%), unmarried (71%), absence of history of mental disorders (87%) and a high prevalence of debt (58%).

This is consistent with Hawton’s suggestion of the similarities between the media model and the observer. It seems that charcoal burning has not only worked as a substitute but actually attracted a new cohort of individuals to commit suicide.


2 responses to “Reporting suicide”

  1. I’d be curious to know how many people under the age of 21 read a national newspaper in Bridgend.

    However, I’m not an expert on suicide cults and so wouldn’t be able to comment on exactly what glamorises it. Are you?

  2. Further reading:

    Etzersdorfer E, Sonneck G. Preventing suicide by influencing mass-media reporting. The Viennese experience 1980-1996. Arch Suicide Res 1998; 4: 67-74.

    Stack S. The effect of the media on suicide: Evidence from Japan 1955- 1985. Suicide Life Threat Behav 1996; 26:132-142