Facebook Joins Samaritans In Preventing Suicides

Facebook has joined hands with the Samaritans to prevent suicides by launching a help centre where users can report friends whom they think may be suicidal.

To report any suicidal content, such as status updates or wall posts, users must provide Facebook with the web address (URL) leading to the message, the person’s full name, details of any networks they are members of, and a link to their profile.

Facebook will then contact Samaritans – an organisation that offers emotional support to those experiencing distress – and put them in touch with the person believed to be on the verge of suicide.

“We want to remind people that if a friend says that life isn’t worth living, they should always be taken seriously,” said Catherin Johnstone, chief executive of Samaritans.

“Facebook is a part of daily life for so many of us and we must make sure that people online have support when they need it,” she added.

Facebook-related crimes

The joint collaboration between Facebook and Samaritans is aimed at the 30 million Facebook users in the UK. It came after reports of several cases where Facebook users expressed their intention to commit suicide online.

This also includes a case of 42-year-old Simone Back from Brighton, who had taken an overdose and posted a suicidal message on her profile: “Took all my pills be dead soon so bye bye every one.” However, none of her friends raised any concerns, which resulted in her death the following day.

Meanwhile, police officers in the UK are to receive training on how to use Facebook and Twitter to curb social network-related crimes, especially online bullying and ‘trolling’ – an emerging cyber trend where anonymous Internet users publish upsetting posts on online message boards in order to provoke outrage and distress.

Last year, 15-year-old Tom Mullaney reportedly committed suicide after being bullied on Facebook. Days later, his memorial page saw a posting that read: “Why would you make an RIP page about someone that’s clearly a wimp?? That’s just embarrassing.”

According to police stats, the popular social networking site has been linked to over 100,000 crimes in the UK alone.

Facebook reporting system

In response to the rising concerns over Facebook-related tragedies, director of policy for Facebook Europe, Richard Allan, said that the company is pleased to welcome “the expertise of a great partner in Samaritans”.

“They will help to make our robust reporting system even more effective, as friends are encouraged to look out for one another on Facebook as they do in the real world,” explained Allan.

“This supplements the numbers of ways to get help already available on Facebook, from our Help Centre to the reporting tools we offer,” he added.

According to Facebook’s Help Centre, users who come across any suicidal content on the site are recommended to contact law enforcement immediately. They are also advised to inform Samaritans at 08457909090 (UK) or 1850609090 (Republic of Ireland), or email jo@samaritans.org.

The site also provides a list of suicide prevention hotlines in other countries as well as guidelines on how to identify and respond to signs of suicidal behaviour online.