An Example of What Not To Do When Covering Suicide

When reading this article from the Business Standard, I could hardly make it past the first sentence, let alone the headline, without feeling disgusted. However, I wanted to write about this article as to use it as an example of what not to do when covering suicide.

The article began by explaining that a young woman, mother of two, took her life by jumping into a well with her two young children. Shortly after, her husband also took his life.

It continues on to explain that the husband and wife had had a verbal altercation on Thursday, prompting the wife to take her and her 18-month old and 6-month-old with her as she ended her life.

It went on to include a quote from a police officer about the details of the incident, as well as how the bodies were dealt with. It was a short article, but it nonetheless screamed volumes about how best not to cover suicide.

Based on my research and insight from various sources on covering suicide, there is no real benefit in including speculations as to why someone may have taken their life. We will never really know, and drawing conclusions and making assumptions does nothing for the grieving and healing process for those who’s loved ones were lost. Blaming it on a verbal altercation between the husband and wife is a blatant assumption, and can only distract family and friends from mourning their loss and appreciating the life and in turn puts the focus on anger and obtaining justice.

It’s also a red flag to me that this journalist included a quote from a police office. While it might be important to get information from a first responder as far as understanding the gist of the situation, it is not their place to speculate and make statements about why this tragedy may have occurred. They are experts of the law, but they are not experts on mental illness and what may lead someone to take their life (at least, I can safely and confidently assume.)

This article also included some details that while they weren’t directly graphic, they definitely painted a picture in my head as I read it, and it wasn't pretty. It’s quite the tragedy that this woman took her two young children with her as she decided to end her life; that is certainly newsworthy. But I felt uncomfortable about them including the names of the children. You wouldn’t normally include the name of young children unless given specific permission to do so, and I don’t think it was necessary. Nor do I think it was necessary to include that, “the bodies were pulled out from the well last night and handed over to the family members,” because no one needs that visual, and saying that they were “handed over” to family members makes it sound like they weren’t even human beings; they were garbage being tossed around.

I don’t want to believe that this is considered a respectable piece of journalism, or that it was purposefully published to serve as an example of how not to cover suicide in the media. I don’t think this article did these people justice, and it painted their deaths in such a glamorized and entertainment-like way that dehumanizes them. The most important part about writing on suicide is remembering that this was a person. A person who had emotions, who had loved ones, who lived. It’s important to focus on these aspects of the story as opposed to narrowly discussing the details of the event itself.