Concerns have been raised that coverage of the death of Robin Williams by many newspapers could unwittingly be encouraging other depressed people to take their own lives. In the wake of the news about the comedian, The Samaritans issued specific guidance on how to report the incident and reiterated its standard guidelines on celebrity suicides, which include avoiding explicit details of the method and not combining it with references to life circumstances such as debt. However, this was ignored by some media outlets, leading The Samaritans Sophie Borromeo to say she was concerned about the articles detailing unnecessary information, many including bullet points on the front pages. Broadcaster Claudia Hammond, a member of the British Psychological Society, told the Guardian she had already noticed newspapers ignoring the media reporting guidelines by dwelling on the method of Williams death. This could be all it takes to encourage someone who was contemplating suicide to actually do it. If suicide sounds in some way as if it solves a problem or is associated with a brilliant and creative individual ... that casts it in a more attractive, more acceptable light, she warned. The BPS is required to adhere to specific ethics guidelines to ensure we uphold professional standards, which include a section on being socially responsible. The requirements are listed for members on our website. Claudia Hammond received the Society’s Public Engagement and Media Award at our annual conference in 2012.
Posted on: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 20:26:07 +0000
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