Watford mum takes action for World Suicide Prevention Day

Suzanne Samaka’s campaign #HonestyAboutEditing aims to make it a legal requirement for edited content to be labelled in a bid to protect people’s mental health.

The 33-year-old from Watford hopes World Suicide Day today (Friday) will help shine a light on the issue as numbers have continued to rise since 2012.

The town’s MP Dean Russell has thrown his weight behind her campaign saying he is pleased to support it.

Suzanne Samaka

“An increasing number of people are affected by negative online comments,” he said.

“I would like to see a level of protection for people who suffer with their mental health, eating disorders, anxiety, depression and negative body image and self-esteem.

“Thank you to my constituent Suzanne for campaigning for change.”

Suzanne, who is stepmother-of-four, has a two-year-old daughter and is currently pregnant, said suicide statistics around young people “really worry me”.

Around 200 young people die every year, according to Samaritans, and most youngsters who the charity spoke to said loneliness played a role in their suicidal thoughts.

Rates are also rising in the under 25s in England and Wales, with the amount for females increasing by 93.8 per cent since 2012 to its highest level in 2019.

Suzanne Samaka with her daughter

Suzanne said: “I am keen to create action that is positive in helping drive these issues down.

“France, Israel and recently Norway have passed this law and I’m campaigning for the UK to do the same thing - to protect young people’s mental health.

“We have a number of MPs on board and a national eating disorder charity, but the signatures are the key part to creating change.”

A survey conducted by the Royal Society for Public Health asked 14 to 24-year-olds in the UK how social media platforms impacted their health and well-being.

The survey found that Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram were all linked to increased feelings of depression, anxiety, poor body image and loneliness.

More than two thirds (68 per cent) of young people surveyed support social media platforms highlighting when a photo has been manipulated.

Research also shows that the pandemic has made these challenges worse, with many charities and mental health services at full capacity over the past year.

Suzanne added: “It is without exception that everyone I have spoken to thought this was the law already or that it should be,” she added.

“Whilst the awareness day is one day of the year, the problems are 365 days of year.”

Suzanne encouraged people to share her campaign, which already has nearly 1,500 backers, and sign it here: https://www.change.org/ChangeSocialMediaLaws