Annemarie Quill: More talk is needed

I was invisible for two years. I pretty much did not talk to anyone at school from when I was about 14 until 16, apart from the teachers in class and a few other girls.

At the girls' high school I was "sent to Coventry" by a group of girls who used to be my friends.

Totally blanked. I didn't tell anyone. No one talked much about bullying then. I didn't even think of it as bullying, although I now know exclusion and isolation are classic weapons for bullies.

It was hurtful but I tried not to think about it. When I moved school at 16, I never saw them again. I was lucky that although school bullies got me, they never got to me.

The bullies got to 13-year-old Danny Fitzpatrick. After enduring constant torment from bullies at his New York school who were once his friends, Danny Fitzpatrick decided his life was no longer worth living.

Before taking his own life, Danny wrote a letter, shared to Facebook, that described his ordeal, NZME reported this week.

There are strict laws in New Zealand controlling the way media is allowed to report on suicide - stricter than many countries.

People often ask me "Why aren't you guys writing about bullying and suicide?"

More New Zealanders die by their own hand than they do on the roads, but you don't see the headlines. Until recently, the media has been limited to report on "sudden deaths" and "no suspicious circumstances" when reporting that someone has died through self-inflicted causes.

There can be no reporting of method, with the reasons being to protect vulnerable readers, and prevent potential copycat suicides. However, in June, a reform in the Coroners Act was passed into law enabling media to now report a death as "suspected suicide" before a coroner's inquiry is completed, if the facts support that conclusion.

The Justice and Electoral Committee decided to continue to prohibit the reporting of method on advice from the Director General of Mental Health. Yet there was recognition from the director that media could play a positive role in suicide awareness.

It is a minor breakthrough for media. Not because any journalist relishes reporting a suicide. But more such reporting will enable the public to understand the scale of the problem, which to date has been hidden in euphemism and misunderstanding, or not reported on at all.

While media must obey the law, some may question if the relaxing on reporting has gone far enough.

Our strict laws about reporting suicide appear to have had no impact on reducing suicide statistics.

In the 2014-15 year 564 people died by suicide - the highest number since the provisional statistics were first recorded, prompting Chief Coroner Judge Deborah Marshall to comment that, in spite of the shift in society's preparedness to have a more open conversation about suicide, in the eight years since statistics on suicides have been gathered, "we are not seeing any movement in what is an unfortunate static annual figure".

While we can never know the reasons for a suicide there seems to be a number linked with bullying.

There is greater effort being put into suicide prevention, including the Ministry of Health's suicide prevention toolkit for district health boards and the trial Suicide Mortality Review Committee.

The Ministry of Health promotes an interagency approach "to promote protective factors and reduce risk factors" involving families, whanau, communities, employers, government agencies - and yes, even though we are partially gagged - the media.

No one single organisation can prevent suicide on its own. Yet in cases where young people are driven to suicide by bullying at school I believe there needs to be more than talk.

When we drop children off at school the school has a duty of care to protect our children.

The new government health and safety legislation means that schools can be prosecuted for not protecting the health and safety of students in its care.

A prosecution for those who do nothing to stop a child being bullied - including schools and parents of bullies - should be considered.

Where to get help:

• Lifeline: 0800 543 354 (available 24/7)
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7)
• Youthline: 0800 376 633
• Kidsline: 0800 543 754 (available 24/7)

- Annemarie Quill is magazine editor at Bay of Plenty Times, a sister publication of Hawke's Bay Today.

- Ana Apatu's column is taking a break until after the Local Government Elections.