As I wrote yesterday, many people post suicide threats on Facebook and I have recommendations for how to handle suicide threats on Facebook or other social media. However, there was something I was not aware of – features right in Facebook to report suicidal content. There are actually several features right in Facebook to help with suicide or self-harm posts on Facebook.

Report a Suicide Threat Post to Facebook

Facebook Suicidal Post Drop-Down

The first, and probably the most simple is to report the post. To report a suicide threat or self-harm threat to Facebook (screenshots from Facebook on the right):

1. Click on the down arrow to the right of the post (seen right).

2. Select Report Story or Spam.

 

File a Report of a Suicidal Post on Facebook

3. Select file a report (seen right).

 

Report Suicidal Content on Facebook4. Select Violence or Harmful behavior. When you do this, a drop-down list appears (seen right).

5. From the drop-down list select the appropriate choice, such as Suicidal Content.

Now, I haven’t personally tried this so I can’t verify that it works, but apparently when you report suicidal content to Facebook it is quickly assessed and, if verified, an email is sent to the person who posted the suicidal content with a link to chat with a professional.

You can also report suicidal content by typing Suicide into the Facebook Help box and then selecting Report Suicidal Content to Facebook, but this method requires more information from you as it’s not linked directly to a post.

Other Suicide Resources on Facebook

You can find other suicide resources on Facebook by typing Suicide into their Help system (seen right). There are some useful links there to suicide hotlines for various countries

Suicide on Help System in FacebookA Note on Suicide Resources on Facebook

I applaud Facebook for taking steps to help people who are in distress. They should have taken these steps due to the prevalence of the situation – and they did. Unfortunately, I don’t really trust Facebook to come through on these things (sorry, I’m just sceptical like that) and I would consider this supplemental to contacting the authorities proper. (Facebook, by the way, also says you should call the police or a suicide hotline if you see credible suicide threats.)

But the really good thing about this is that if you see a situation happening in another country where you can’t contact their hotline or police, or for some reason-or-other those people can’t help, this is a way of at least trying to connect the person in distress with a professional, and that could make all the difference to someone contemplating suicide.

More information on suicide here.