First modification:
For a long time, media silence has prevailed around suicide. But the magnitude of this problem, which claims the lives of more than 700,000 people annually, demands that we approach it as a public health phenomenon. Suicide and its causes can be treated and prevented, as is the case with the telephone helplines in Spain.
A voice at the other end of a call; a voice in the media or a voice from a support network. Sometimes it is the first essential step to save a life and the bridge that avoids the abyss of suicide. More than 703,000 people make the decision to take their own lives each year, as many as people die from HIV and AIDS. However, suicide is still sometimes a taboo subject.
The magnitude of this phenomenon, a real public health problem, is chilling: it is the fourth cause of death among young people between 15 and 29 years of age worldwide, although in many countries it is the first. In addition, for every suicide death there is, it is estimated that there are 20 people who attempt it.
Although it is sometimes perceived as a global north and wealthy country problem, 70% of suicide deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. Africa is, in fact, the continent with the highest rate: 11.7 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. On the other hand, the American continent is the only one where this rate has not decreased in the last 20 years, but has increased by 17% since 2000.
It is difficult to reduce suicide to a single cause. The link with mental health is indisputable and reminds us that some illnesses, such as depression or bipolar disorder, which are sometimes related to this phenomenon, are treatable.
However, it is relevant to highlight the words of the World Health Organization that show suicide with social inequalities: “The experience of conflict, disaster, violence, abuse or loss and the feeling of isolation are strongly related to suicidal behavior. Suicide rates are also high among vulnerable groups who experience discrimination, such as refugees and migrants; indigenous people; LGBTI people; and prisoners.”
All these factors must be taken into account when it comes to preventing suicide, and that is why many civil organizations request comprehensive care plans in addition to telephone lines, which are undoubtedly essential. Without going any further, in the first 24 hours of operation of the public suicide prevention line recently opened in Spain, more than a thousand calls were received.
Is media silence useful?
For decades, a kind of information bubble has prevailed around suicide, in which it was recommended not to report it so as not to produce a contagious effect. For example, in 2017 the style book of the Spanish newspaper El País recalled that “psychology has proven that this news encourages people who were already prone to suicide to take their own lives and who feel at that moment an imitation stimulus.”
However, more and more voices are seeking to burst this bubble, because what is not named does not exist. In a booklet of recommendations prepared by the Spanish Ministry of Health, they justify it as follows: “suicide figures make it necessary to overcome traditional habits that advocated silencing suicide in the press (…) Informative silence is not an option. Sensationalism , either.”
After all, addressing suicide in the media allows attention and reflection also on the roots of the problem, such as the lack of resources around mental health or the inequalities that feed this phenomenon. It also allows you to remember that there are alternatives, treatments and people who have survived.
Next, we compile suicide hotlines in Latin America:
#Health #voice #silence #prevent #suicide
