In 2022, India recorded its highest number of suicides since 1966 (1,70,924, representing a 4.2% increase from the previous year), a sobering reminder of the scale and urgency of this public health issue. (This blog breaks down key takeaways from the NCRB data for the year 2022.)
The media plays a crucial role in shaping public narratives on this issue, with the potential to either perpetuate stigma or to foster awareness and facilitate prevention. This makes responsible, evidence-based, and empathetic journalism not just a professional standard but a public health imperative. In fact, responsible reporting is recognised as one of the key pillars of suicide prevention in the World Health Organization's LIVE LIFE framework.
In this spirit, the Keshav Desiraju India Mental Health Observatory (Keshav Desiraju IMHO) annually hosts the SIREN award for journalists. We are pleased to announce the fifth year of the award.
What is the Project SIREN award?
The Keshav Desiraju IMHO launched Project SIREN on World Suicide Prevention Day, 10th September 2020, to advocate for better reporting on suicide. The SIREN award was launched in 2021, as an extension of Project SIREN.
The award aims to recognise journalists who promote suicide prevention through responsible reporting. It encourages solution-focused coverage on suicide that explores the social, economic, and cultural facets of the issue.
Fundamentally, the award is based on the understanding that the media can be a powerful ally and tool in suicide prevention. Journalists can play a key role in supporting suicide prevention by challenging misconceptions, highlighting systemic and social determinants of suicide, discouraging sensationalism, and encouraging accurate, sensitive storytelling.
What sets these stories apart
Over the past four years, the award has spotlighted reports that exemplify journalistic integrity, compassion, and impact. Last year, Azeefa Fathima from The News Minute won the award for her article More teens are dying by suicide every year. How do we protect them?. Her piece provided an in-depth look into the increasing cases of suicide among teenagers in India, combining data-driven reporting, systemic insights, and professional perspectives. Instead of just highlighting a crisis, it empowered readers by offering clear, expert-backed guidance to actively protect young people.
Brendan Dabhi was awarded for his Ahmedabad Mirror article “Not Just Barriers, Building ‘Bridges’ Can Stop Suicides” (2023), which highlighted that installing bridge barriers can be an effective first line of deterrence against suicides, but they need to be complemented with helpline signboards to encourage seeking mental health support. The jury praised it for its hope-filled, solutions-oriented lens and accessible storytelling. Hirra Azmat’s report on Zindagi (2022), Kashmir’s first suicide prevention helpline, stood out for centering a region often left out of mental health and suicide prevention discourse and for following best practices like providing help-seeking information and using non-stigmatising language.
In 2021, Geetika Mantri’s winning article critically analysed the media's coverage of Sushant Singh Rajput's death, highlighting that the irresponsible reporting was detrimental to the suicide prevention discourse.
The recipients of the Project SIREN award have explored diverse issues in suicide prevention: from irresponsible media coverage and gaps in mental health infrastructure to the roles of caste, gender, and the broader social determinants that are often ignored.
Regardless of the subject matter, all the winning entries stood out for their adherence to the World Health Organization guidelines, use of non-sensational language that avoids explicit details or blame, and their constructive focus on awareness and prevention through context-rich, solution-oriented reporting.
Why this matters
Project SIREN believes in moving conversation beyond statistics and sensational details. We support journalism that equips the public to think critically, compels institutions to pursue systemic change, and invites readers to empathise with those affected.
As we move into the fifth year of this award, we remain committed to building a media environment that is informed, responsible, and directed towards suicide prevention.
Submissions for the SIREN award 2025 are now OPEN.
To apply or nominate a journalist, please visit the SIREN award page: https://cmhlp.org/imho-siren/project-awards-2025/
For questions or further information, feel free to reach out to our team at imho@cmhlp.org.
