Media Guidelines
Media Guide for Reporting Suicide
These guidelines are based on those developed by the Canadian
Association for Suicide Prevention and considered best practices
for reporting as well as for social media.
Suicide is a public health issue. The media has an important
role to play in suicide prevention by reporting in an informed,
sensitive, responsible, and respectful manner.
Avoid the following:
These guidelines are based on those developed by the Canadian
Association for Suicide Prevention and considered best practices
for reporting as well as for social media.
Suicide is a public health issue. The media has an important
role to play in suicide prevention by reporting in an informed,
sensitive, responsible, and respectful manner.
Avoid the following:
- reporting about the method used
- printing photos of the deceased
- making generalizations or oversimplifying the complex causes of suicide (such as saying the victim was depressed, implying all depressed people are suicidal)
- romanticizing the suicide (such as saying the victim wanted to be with his deceased girlfriend)
- referring to suicide as 'successful' or to a suicidal attempt as a 'failed attempt'
Follow these guidelines:
- inform without sensationalizing
- use words like 'a rise in' or 'higher' to describe an increase in suicide rate
- use generic pictures such as a family, a community, a school
- mention that most people who have thoughts of suicide do no act on them
- mention that most but not all people who die by suicide invite us to help
- use the words 'died by suicide' not 'committed suicide'
- always include available community resources in all forms of reporting
- encourage help-seeking behaviour
- seek expert advice
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