Celebration of person’s life must not champion act of suicide

IN showing sensitivity in discussing or writing about suicide a new danger seems to be emerging.

In trying to understand the pressures that drive some people to take their own lives — and in showing sympathy towards the victims — a trend towards legitimising the act, implicitly at least and unintentionally, may be developing. In celebrating the lives of those who have died — without offering any criticism of the act of suicide itself — there is a danger that some impressionable people could confuse this with championing the act of suicide itself.

Journalists and broadcasters are bound by a number of things in attempting to assess the large number of suicides taking place in Ireland. In particular, there are strict rules in relation to the reporting of the act and there is the innate decency of most in not wanting to report on things that might intensify the grief of those who have been left to suffer the consequences of the suicide. Most of us are determined to respect private grief and personal privacy. The challenge is for the media to address a crucial public issue openly but with sensitivity. That is often easier said than done.