A guide for speaking publicly about suicide

Public figures such as politicians sometimes have to talk about suicide, whether in the media, when speaking in Parliament or in the community.

This guide aims to provide some practical tips on safe ways to discuss this challenging area, to ensure any
risks are managed whilst increasing the community understanding of suicide. It is important to talk about
suicide. It is an important issue of community concern and in general, having a conversation with someone
does not increase suicidal behaviour. However, this is not the same with one‐way mass communication
through either public speaking or the media. Evidence clearly tells us that we need to proceed with caution
due to the potential risk of causing unintended harm to those in the community who are vulnerable to
suicide.