Dear Editor,
There seems to be a viciousness in the way sections of Guyana’s media are dealing with private citizens and their troubles.
It seems that any person who attempts suicide or takes their own life can be guaranteed to have all the speculation about their lives exposed for the general public.
It seems as though the concern and hand wringing over ‘why why why whuh we gun do’ is a cover for an enjoyment of the problems faced by other persons, and there seems to be subversive blaming and shaming of the people who are thinking of suicide.
It has been accepted that the reason people want to kill themselves is that they reach a point at which they feel their lives are full of pain ‒ some people do things impulsively, some plan for a long time. People have different experiences; what causes pain for one person could be trivial for another.
Is it really important for the public to know the details of a child’s abuse? Is it really important for the public to know over and over about different families’ distress of ‘not knowing why’? Is it really important for the public to know the details of people’s problems with their spouses, partners, relationships?
In less abnormal places, the plea is made for the media to be responsible, to prevent copycatting and to encourage help-seeking where possible.
If the media insists on its freedom to ignore best practice guidelines on the reporting of suicide, at least there could be an editorial check to include at the end of a story, the phone numbers for the National Suicide Helpline at 223-0001, 223-0009, 223-0818, 600-7896 623-4444.
Yours faithfully,
Vidyaratha Kissoon
