Globalization of the #chatsafe guidelines: Using social media for youth suicide prevention

Young people use social media to communicate about suicide, however, they often feel ill-equipped to share their own experiences or to respond to expressions of risk by others.

To describe the adaptation of the Australian #chatsafe guidelines for an international audience, and their initial roll out via social media.

An online survey (n = 48) and two workshops (n = 47) conducted between August and December 2019. Thirty-eight countries were represented.

Minimal adaptation of the Australian guidelines was required however, an abbreviated version and a suite of social media assets were developed. In the 6 weeks following publication the international guidelines were downloaded ~4100 times and the social media content reached over one million young people.

The fact that the guidelines and campaign content appear to have had such success speaks to the need for young people to feel better equipped to communicate safely about suicide online.