News

Everymind has launched a new set of guidelines aimed at improving the language used when communicating about mental health and wellbeing, mental ill-health, self-harm, suicide, eating disorders and alcohol and other drugs (AOD).

Newly published research has reaffirmed the importance of Mindframe guidelines in helping to reduce stigma after it was found that most media articles about alcohol and other drugs (AOD) focus on crime and justice.

As further details on the Western Downs incident and the alleged perpetrators emerge, Australian media professionals are reminded to apply Mindframe guidelines when reporting on mental illness in the context of violent crime, as well as the use of drugs.

To ensure accuracy when reporting about mental illness in the context of violent crime, media should avoid:

• Assuming the cause of crime or violence is mental illness
• Attributing a mental illness to someone purely because their actions are shocking or seem inexplicable
• Speculating about the person featured in a story having a mental illness
• Implying that everyone with a mental illness is violent, or is a risk to the public
• Asking for an ‘on air’ diagnosis from mental health experts.

Congratulations to the winners of this year’s Mindframe for Journalism Education Ossie Awards, Lucy Waldron and Brooke Young, presented at the Journalism Education and Research Association of Australia (JERAA) Conference.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) will tomorrow release its 2021 Causes of Death data. This data set will include annual national suicide information.

Media and communications professionals reporting on the data and findings included in this report are encouraged to be thoughtful, responsible and accurate to reduce the risk of harm or stigma for those in the community with lived experience of mental ill-health and suicide.

Everymind will be hosting a joint online briefing session with the ABS for media and those working in the mental health and suicide prevention sector on the statistics specifically relating to suicide deaths.

Hearings for the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide are scheduled to recommence on Tuesday 18 October. Australian media are reminded to report safely and sensitively on issues relating to suicide.

Everymind has today launched a new set of guidelines aimed at reducing the use of potentially stigmatising imagery in news and other public communication about mental ill-health, suicide and alcohol and other drugs (AOD).

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) will be releasing its 2021 Causes of Death data on Wednesday, 19 October 2022 at 11:30am AEDT. This data set will include annual national suicide information.

Everymind will host a joint online briefing session with the ABS for media and those working in the mental health and suicide prevention sector on the statistics specifically relating to suicide deaths.

An economic evaluation has found that Everymind’s Mindframe program leads to cost-savings compared to the absence of guidelines and is worthy of investment and inclusion in national suicide prevention strategies.

Australian media professionals are reminded to apply Mindframe guidelines when reporting on suspected suicide deaths.

Avoid or minimise detailed descriptions of method and location, particularly when reporting from the scene. Research has shown that communicating details of method and location can increase suicidal behaviour in the community. It is recommended to refer to public locations in general and non-descriptive terms.

Please be mindful of the prominence and quantity of reporting being released, as prolonged and sustained reporting can have significant lasting negative impacts on the individuals, organisations and communities involved.