Talking Suicide: Overview : SBS Insight

Overview

More Australians die from suicide than on our roads, but it's hardly ever talked about publicly.

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Fears of copycat suicides have meant the topic is a virtual no-go area, with the media, police and film makers avoiding the issue in detail.

However, there's debate around whether this is the best approach.

The award-winning Australian mental health expert Pat McGorry thinks not. He says guidelines for reporting suicide are outdated, and that the problem should be tackled head on, with a national campaign and statistics published regularly.

The current guidelines are maintained by a government-funded organization called Mindframe. They say there’s strong evidence of a link between reporting of suicides and increases in suicide attempts.

Join Insight for a frank and powerful look at how Australia is talking about suicide and whether it is working.

Meet the Guests

Jaelea Skehan

Jaelea Skehan is the program manager at Mindframe - the federal government-appointed organisation that guides the portrayal of suicide by media, police and film makers. Mindframe says journalists must report suicide carefully to prevent copycat and avoid creating stigmas around the issue. It says there is strong evidence for a link between media reporting and increases in suicide attempts.

Pat McGorry

Professor Pat McGorry says media guidelines for the reporting of suicide are outdated. He wants to tackle suicide like we do the road toll – with a national campaign and statistics published regularly.

Mark Butler

Mark Butler became Australia’s first Federal Minister for Mental Health in September 2010. In response to last year’s The Hidden Toll: Suicide in Australia senate inquiry, he said more needed to be done to prevent suicide.

David Vann

Award-winning American fiction author David Vann has experienced five suicides in his family. He says he had great trouble getting Legend of a Suicide and Caribou Island published because they draw heavily on his experience of suicide. Vann thinks we need to hear stories about suicide in order to break the taboo and stigma.

Chris Tanti

Chris Tanti is the Chief Executive Officer of Headspace – Australia’s National Youth Mental Health Foundation. Chris says as a community we’re privately devastated by suicide but publicly we continue to shy away from the discussion.

John Brogden

John Brogden is a former NSW Opposition Leader and is the National Patron of the Lifeline phone counselling service. He attempted suicide in 2005. He believes all suicides should be reported as such, and would support a national government awareness campaign.

Mary Victor O'Reeri

Two of Mary Victor O'Reeri's brothers died from suicide three years apart. When her first brother killed himself, Mary felt frustrated that no one would speak about it. She finally broke down the barriers and got the family and community talking about suicide when her second brother took his life. Since then she has taken on the goal of tackling indigenous suicide. She lives in the Kimberley.

Matt Dee

Matt Dee is a lifeguard on TV show Bondi Rescue. He recently spoke publicly about the suicide of his sister in 2009 because he says it’s important to raise awareness of suicide and mental health. He is also an ambassador for the Schizophrenia Research Institute.