Experts in psychology have urged journalists to avoid sensationalism when reporting on suicide cases in the country.
Their reportage should be informed by best practices in order not to increase suicide risk or weaken prevention efforts.
Dr. Emmanuel Nii-Boye Quarshie, President of the Association for Suicide Prevention Ghana (GASP), stated at a workshop for journalists in Accra that while suicide reports are necessary, sensitive issues such as location, way the incident occurred, name, and age, among others, should not be reported.
He said that such reporting provided too much information to persons planning suicide attempts, resulting in many deaths, and contributing to the country’s suicide rate.
“Journalists will go every length to find details about the suicide, particularly, details on how the person died which is not helpful, out there among the viewers, listenership and readership, you have vulnerable groups, children, adolescent, young people and also the aged and these are age groups established in the literature to be vulnerable to suicide.
“When you provide fine or explicit details about the methods of suicide, you are only providing information to vulnerable groups out there in terms of the methods to apply in doing the same thing, hence it is important for media practitioners to be mindful when reporting,” Dr Quarshie, who is also a Senior lecturer, Department of Psychology, University of Ghana, added
Professor Joseph Osafo, a Clinical Health Psychologist, emphasized that gory stories, pictures, and videos were extremely sensitive topics that should be published in keeping with World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, and that some of the images shown were horrific and inappropriate.
He said that the media training would provide journalist with the expertise and abilities needed, as well as the right strategy for dealing with suicide cases, all while protecting people from stigma.
“We have developed our own guidelines as a country and focusing on some of the studies that we have conducted over the period and adapting the WHO guidelines and infusing it with our own content, so that journalist will know the right thing, so the practitioner will know what to report and what not to report,” he said.
Dr. Johnny Ando-Arthur, General Secretary of GASP, said suicide could be prevented, and that the media should help sanitize the space by publishing pieces that were life-enhancing rather than supporting behaviours that would lead people to end their own lives.
“How we present the stories is what matters, when we present the stories in a way that would rather fortify and reinforcing people to also want to kill themselves, we can also present in such a way that would help people to have a second thought about killing themselves.
Ms Gloria Boatema Andoh, Vice President of GASP, stressed the need for Ghanaians to reach out to people in difficult situations and offer them help to stay alive, saying that “as a survivor, I am a better person today because I got support from professionals.”
“People who pronounce suicide do not really mean to do so, all they need is hope and some words of encouragement, there are people who do not need much but need a listening ear and where to seek help,” she said.
A network of journalists was launched with the goal of sharing ideas and best practices among participants, stakeholders, and experts.
GNA
