Although Im still on break - I have seen so many irresponsible articles covering the recent and tragic loss of 17 year old Leelah that I wanted to share this excellent, responsible and very balanced post addressing her suicide, which also offers many good support resources. As so often happens, the media runs with a high interest story and doesnt bother in most instances to make any attempt at educating on the fact that mental illness can and is often involved with suicide, as apparently it was with Leelah also. You see it with bullying stories where suicide has happened and an automatic link is made that bullying causes or leads to suicide and youre seeing it again now with this tragic loss of Leelah. I have no doubt that those within the LGBTQ community encounter much prejudice, judgement and lack of compassion or understanding. It is why they are a higher risk group for suicide, but its critical to point out that suicide is not the solution for these situations and as the group most impacted by this will be youth, that you seek out support from other sources/organizations/communities if youre not supported at home. My heart goes out to Leelah for all she endured and the painful loss of support and acceptance by her parents and religious community. Havent read any posts on this recent loss that even attempt to educate responsibly and most present this so simplistically when suicide is very complex. Every article I have read has included method and details which can have some very real contagion consequences. The media know well that including method can greatly impact and influence others, they know there are media guidelines that outline clearly not to include method and details - but they ignore those guidelines and do what draws readers. Would love to see the day when media automatically contacts suicide prevention organizations to get educated on the safest and most responsible way they can cover a topic like this. Some do, but the vast majority dont and in their haste to be first to have coverage, the educational component goes out the window. They could do so much good with their reach. Via Speaking of Suicide: Transgender People and Suicide: The Tragedy, and the Hope
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 19:40:23 +0000
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