Truth-telling about suicide: Empowering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to engage with the media

Abstract

Objective: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices are crucial when reporting on key issues facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. To date, there has been very little representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members speaking to the media about suicide and mental health challenges, but this is changing. This paper outlines the process and outcomes of co-creating resources which aim to increase the confidence and capacity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to talk to media about mental health challenges and/or suicide. Methods: Following an Aboriginal Participatory Action Research approach, this paper elevates the voices of 18 Aboriginal (Noongar) community members with lived experience of suicide and mental health challenges. This group took part in media training, led by a respected Aboriginal social justice advocate. Following the training, the group gifted stories about experiences engaging with the media, through research topic yarning. Results and Conclusions: The results from a thematic analysis identified a justified mistrust towards the media, a desire to speak up to the media, and the need for a range of resources to support truth-telling to the media. These results informed the co-creation of a guide to support truth-telling to the media, with the aim of building the capability of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to share their truth in a way which is safe for them.