Club Breakfast Briefing: The Hong Kong Protests – Covering Mental Health and Suicide

One of the issues that has developed for journalists in the Hong Kong protests is how to responsibly and ethically cover suicides and mental health. There have been rumors and speculation about a number of suicides, with some reports not only linking them directly to the protests but giving details of how they were carried out. This workshop will give journalists background and information about covering suicide, one of the most sensitive subjects a journalist has to deal with, and other mental health issues.

Professor Paul Yip is the director of the Centre of Suicide Research and Prevention at the University of Hong Kong and he has been advising the World Health Organization on media engagement and reporting on suicide. He has spoken extensively on the coverage of suicide and will explain how it should be handled by journalists, including use of language, images, and how much, if any, detail of the method used should be given. Some good practice models were demonstrated. He also looked at the impact the tense situation in Hong Kong has had on mental health in the general population and more specifically how journalists can deal with their own stress and exhaustion.

This is the fourth of the FCC’s series of workshops for journalists covering the Hong Kong protests. Videos of the previous workshops on safety, legal risks and digital security are posted on the FCC website: https://www.fcchk.org/speakers-past/