How to report on mental health
Media reporting can have a huge influence on public attitudes towards mental health.
When dealing with a topic already entrenched with stigma and misunderstanding, fair and accurate journalism is crucially important.
The Press Complaints Commission code of practice states that:
- The press must avoid prejudicial or pejorative reference to an individual's race, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation or to any physical or mental illness or disability.
- Details of an individual's race, colour, religion, sexual orientation, physical or mental illness or disability must be avoided unless genuinely relevant to the story.
Shift, a government body set up to tackle stigma and discrimination in mental health, produces a handbook for journalists on how to cover mental health sensitively and responsibly.
How to report on suicide
The way that suicide is reported can have a direct impact on the incidence of 'copy cat suicides', so it's essential to take care when reporting individual cases. The Samaritans produce a media guide on reporting suicide.
Tags (entire site): Change society, Discrimination and stigma, Give people a voice, Mental health in the media