The Suicide Prevention Scotland campaign has released a new series of short films featuring people from around Scotland who have been touched by suicide, talking about their own experiences. The campaign has been co-produced by people with lived and living experience of suicide, alongside people working in suicide prevention and academia. It urges people to ask direct and sometimes difficult questions if they have concerns someone might be considering suicide.
One participant, Noor, speaks publicly for the first time about the devastating loss of her friend in a powerful film released as part of the campaign. Noor is now studying a Master's on the interpersonal theory of suicide in the hope of turning her grief into a positive that can help others. She says that in Middle Eastern culture, people might grow up thinking people that look like her don't talk about suicide.
'If that idea has been ingrained in you from a young age, you will continue to believe in that for the rest of your life,' Noor stated. ' She is speaking out to represent communities where suicide is often stigmatised in the hope of encouraging more open conversations. 'To have that representation, so everyone feels represented and feels seen and feels like they can speak about their experiences,' she added.
The campaign also includes a Scotland-wide TV advert featuring six new campaign ambassadors, all of whom have personal experience of being affected by suicide. ' Parallel to this, mental health campaigner John Gibson is calling on the Scottish Government to roll out suicide prevention training in all schools across Scotland. Gibson, a leading mental health campaigner, lost his son Cammy to suicide in 2019 at age 24.
You might grow up thinking people that look like me don't talk about this stuff.
He attempted to take his own life a year after his son's death, leaving him in psychiatric care for a number of weeks. Gibson and his wife Isobel started The Canmore Trust after their son's death. The trust has been piloting suicide prevention training in schools in Stirling and Clackmannanshire over the last two years.
The 'Breaking the Silence' programme, created by charity Grassroots Suicide Prevention, has been delivered to S4 and S5 pupils in the pilot. Gibson says the suicide prevention training programme has already proven it can save lives, but the specific impact or success metrics of the pilot have not been detailed. Gibson claims there is a total lack of leadership in education over mental health.
'Every headteacher I speak to is crying out for this training in their schools because they're losing pupils to suicide, but they’re not getting the backing from the top,' he said. He argues that by delaying suicide prevention training, we're creating an environment where more people will be affected by suicide. 'We lose around 200 under-16s to suicide every year in the UK — that is horrendous.
Unless the Scottish Government gets a grip on what is happening to young people in this country, we will keep losing children,' Gibson stated. He added, 'Someone at the top — whether that’s Jenny Gilruth or the next education secretary — needs to step forward and say schools can go ahead, we will support it and fund it. ' The Save Young Lives campaign, launched in November, is calling for suicide prevention to be taught in schools across Scotland and for urgent action to reduce waiting lists for mental health support through Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.
If that idea has been ingrained in you from a young age, you will continue to believe in that for the rest of your life.
Campaigners want Scotland to take the same approach as England, where suicide prevention education has become a mandatory part of the school curriculum. The group 3 Dads Walking, fathers who lost children to suicide, met Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth in November to call for Scotland to follow England's approach, but so far no commitment has been made. Whether the Scottish Government will commit to making suicide prevention training mandatory in schools remains uncertain, and the specific timeline or budget for rolling out such training across all schools in Scotland has not been announced.
In a separate initiative, the Scottish Government's Mind to Mind campaign aims to encourage people across Scotland to open up about their mental wellbeing. Radio presenter Katy Johnston has joined forces with the Scottish Government as part of this campaign. A sign bearing Katy Johnston's message, 'Voice it, we're listening,' has been installed at Glasgow Queen Street station.
'I’m absolutely delighted to see my words up in Glasgow Queen Street, a place that means so much to me as I live in Glasgow and walk through the streets on my daily commute,' Johnston said. 'The message says exactly what I hope people feel: that they’ll be listened to. ' The Mind to Mind campaign aims to offer a supportive space for people to explore mental wellbeing on their own terms.
It features more than 30 real-life films, expert advice and clear signposting to further help. Tom Arthur, MSP and minister for social care and mental wellbeing, supports the Mind to Mind campaign. 'Mind to Mind is an innovative, community-focused initiative which embodies our commitment to ensure everyone in Scotland feels seen, heard and supported,' Arthur said.
'We’re pleased to have the support of Katy for this year’s campaign. ' How the Mind to Mind campaign's effectiveness in encouraging people to open up about mental wellbeing will be measured has not been specified.