‘The UK is now the self-harm capital of Europe,’ claims Anabel Unity Sale in Community Care Magazine (2004). ‘It leads to 150,000 attendances at accident and emergency units a year,’ states Alexandra Frean (Times Online, March, 2005). It’s reaching epidemic proportions – more like 170,000 end up in casualty because of it. It’s said that 25,000 youngsters are referred to hospital because of it, more young men are doing, it, more young girls are doing it, ‘seemingly ordinary, adult women’ are increasingly doing it (Mills, Times Online, May, 2005) – even kids as ‘young as eight’ are doing it. (Revill, The Observer, June 2005). Celebrities are glamourising it, and encouraging kids to do it . . . so the speculation goes on, and confusion reigns.

Self-harm (self-poisoning and self-injury) are sensitive issues, and presenting accurate information about the behaviour is vital. The media in particular, play a crucial role in educating the public and shaping and influencing public opinion. As such, they have a responsibility not to mislead or misinform. Indeed, flawed reporting can lead to prejudice, stigma, and misunderstanding. In this chapter, media assertions and attitudes about self-harm and self-injury go under the microscope, the magnitude of self-injury is discussed, and two controversial issues are addressed. Also examined is the relevance of a change of term recently implemented in the professional arena, and whether researchers and practitioners’ use of different terms is responsible for sparking confusion.

Media Hype

Self-harm – in particular self-injury – has recently grabbed the attention of all strands of the media, with articles, once rare, now in abundance in teen magazines, national newspapers, professional journals, and health magazines. Books on the subject have flourished; countless websites have sprung up – many authored by individuals with personal experience of self-injury; the topic has featured in television documentaries, dramas, and soaps; films have entered the arena, and the music industry is no exception. Some (yet by no means all) examples are now given.

Television Documentaries, Dramas, And Soaps

• Jailbirds (BBC1, April 12, 1999), a fly-on-the-wall documentary showing what life is like for women behind bars, filmed at New Hall Prison, Yorkshire.
• East: Suffering in Silence (BBC2, July 17, 2000), which highlighted the growing problem of self-injury among young Asian women in Britain.
• Hollyoaks (Channel 4), wherein Lisa, one of the characters (played by Gemma Atkinson), is seen struggling with the problem.
• Life Isn’t All Ha Ha Hee Hee (BBC 1, May 2005), a compelling drama, in which Sunita, a depressed Asian wife turns to self-injury. (Based on the novel Life Isn’t All Ha Ha Hee Hee by Meera Syal).

The Film Industry

• Girl, Interrupted (Columbia Pictures, 1999).
• Secretary (Lion’s Gate, 2002).
• In My Skin (Rezo Films [French], 2002).
• Thirteen (Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2003).

The Music Industry: Songs Referencing Self-Injury

• Manic Street Preachers’ ‘Yes’, ‘Roses in the Hospital’, ‘Die in the Summertime’ and ‘Born to End’.
• The Used’s ‘I’m a Fake’, ‘A Box Full of Sharp Objects’, and ‘Let It Bleed’.
• Papa Roach’s ‘Scars’ and ‘Last Resort’ (American).
• Linkin Park’s ‘Part of Me’ and ‘Crawling’ (their ‘Numb’ video also shows a girl with scars on her arm) (American).

Books And Internet Sites Displaying Images Of Self-Injury

Internet sites displaying graphic images of wounds and scars have come under hefty criticism because people (including many that self-injure) consider the images are potentially ‘triggering’, or give encouragement to vulnerable youngsters to experiment with the behaviour. Yet it’s not just websites that display pictures – they appear in books, newspapers and magazines – they can even be found on professional websites. Here are some examples:

• Morgan’s book, Death Wishes? (1979:118–121) contains four pages of pictures of self-injury (mainly limbs), which albeit in black and white, could be classified as ‘detailed’, and Favazza’s book, Bodies Under Siege (1996: 159–160) displays a couple of similar pictures.
• An article entitled The First Cut. . . (Carroll, H. The Daily Mirror Mhealth, April 15, 2004, p.33) showed a woman displaying badly scarred arms (full colour picture).
• The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), on the front cover of CPJ (Counselling and Psychotherapy Journal) (2003) displayed a picture of a woman with her face turned sideways, showing two badly scarred arms (black and white picture).
• While searching the British Medical Journal website for information, I came across two provocative images. Both displayed a pair of arms, with a razor blade in the right hand being held against the left wrist about to be cut. (BMJ 2002; 2005).