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Media praised for suicide and mental health message

Federal Minister for Health and Ageing, Senator Kay Patterson, has announced over a million dollars in funding to support the media in their reporting of mental illness and suicide.

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26 June 2003

Media praised for suicide and mental health message

Today Federal Minister for Health and Ageing, Senator Kay Patterson, announced more than a million dollars in funding to support the media in their reporting of mental illness and suicide.

Senator Patterson said that the $1,180,000 over two years would enable the Mindframe initiative to continue its work with the media to encourage accurate and sensitive reporting of suicide and portrayal of mental illness.

"I congratulate the media for their involvement and commitment to this important area of public health," Senator Patterson said.

"The Australian media play a central role in reducing stigma. They can change the way we think about mental illness.

"The way in which suicide is reported can mean the difference between encouraging further self-harm or helping people to seek care.

"Similarly, stereotyped portrayals of people with a mental illness do nothing to enhance the self-esteem of people who live with these problems and can actively work to distance them further from their communities," Senator Patterson said.

Mindframe began in 2000 as part of the National Mental Health Strategy and the National Suicide Prevention Strategy. It recognises that drawing upon the strengths of community partnerships is the best way for government to address stigma and suicide prevention. An advisory group of key media industry representatives, indigenous media and regulatory bodies, consumer representatives and mental health and suicide prevention experts guides the strategy.

To date Mindframe has developed:

  • resources and seminar programs for media professionals
  • education modules for inclusion in tertiary journalism curricula
  • a StigmaWatch program to facilitate community action in response to media depiction of mental illness and suicide, and
  • media monitoring to measure changes in reporting trends.
"The challenge is to achieve real change in the way we think, speak of and deal with mental illness, mental health and suicide.

The media have a critical role to play in bringing about this change," Senator Patterson said.

Media enquiries: Sarah Higginbottom, Media Adviser, Senator Patterson's office, 02) 6277 7220