Reporting Suicide : Safety Isn't Everything

New Zealand youth suicide rates are among the worst in OECD countries. Given that this age group is considered to be particularly vulnerable to peer pressure and ‘copycat' behaviour, it is perhaps no surprise that significant attention is being paid to media reporting on suicide. Most of this has focused on whether media depictions of suicide are likely to increase or decrease the numbers of suicides, but these are not the only considerations that should inform the area. In this article, the authors consider the current law on suicide reporting in New Zealand and discusses the need to weigh public reporting of the details of suicides against any risk of encouraging further incidents of it. The article concludes that a sophisticated and informed balancing of multiple interests and values would be the most appropriate way to reach a decision on suicide reporting in each case