The Equal Opportunities Commission (“EOC”) held a press conference today (7 June 2024) to announce the release of the Media Guidelines for Reporting on Mental Health Issues (“Guidelines”). Developed by the EOC in collaboration with individual members of the Advisory Committee on Mental Health (ACMH) and representative from the Hong Kong Press Council, the Guidelines serve as a reference for media practitioners, encouraging them to uphold the principles of fairness and objectivity when reporting issues or incidents related to mental health. In particular, the Guidelines highlight the importance of accurate and unbiased reporting and the proper use of language and images to prevent the stigmatisation and labelling of people with mental health needs and those in recovery. 

Ms Linda LAM Mei-sau, Chairperson of the EOC, said, “As the statutory body tasked with implementing the Disability Discrimination Ordinance and other anti-discrimination ordinances, the EOC holds great concern about the stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination against people with mental health needs and those in recovery. Such negative treatment of people with mental health needs directly affects their attitudes towards their own conditions – whether they would seek help and treatment, or conceal their conditions and isolate themselves. It also undermines the re-integration of people in recovery into society. At the EOC, we believe that the media plays a very important role in shaping public perceptions and attitudes. We hope to leverage the media’s influence to deepen the public’s understanding of mental health issues and develop the right concept, so that we can reduce the stereotyping of people with mental health needs and those in recovery, and foster greater understanding and inclusion in society.”

Ms Lam further said, “Last September, the EOC hosted a seminar titled ‘Challenge Discrimination, Eliminate Stereotypes – Seminar on Media Reporting of Mental Health Issues’ with the support of ACMH and the Hong Kong News Executives’ Association. The seminar provided a platform to discuss the impact of media reporting on mental health issues. Most of the seminar participants agreed on putting in place a set of guidelines or charter on media reporting of mental health issues to provide a source of reference for media practitioners. In the light of this, the EOC invited individual members of the ACMH and a representative of the Hong Kong Press Council to develop the Guidelines together. We would like to extend our heartfelt appreciation to all the organisations and individuals for their assistance and invaluable advice on the Guidelines.”

The Guidelines explain the impact of media communications on the public’s perceptions and attitudes towards mental health issues, as well as the social responsibilities of media practitioners. Five key principles are listed in the Guidelines for media practitioners to ensure accurate, truthful, objective and comprehensive coverage of mental health issues. These are: (1) Ensure accuracy; (2) Minimise harm; (3) Protect privacy; (4) Use proper language and images; and (5) Help and support.

Dr Ferrick CHU Chung-man, Executive Director (Operations) of the EOC, who is also a Member of ACMH, said, “Previous research studies conducted by the EOC indicated that discrimination against people with mental health needs and those in recovery is not uncommon, whether in the workplace or public settings. At the same time, public awareness and understanding of mental health issues need improvement. As shown in a recent research study by a rehabilitation organisation, there remained a significant gap in the public’s knowledge of severe mental illnesses, with only less than 9% of the respondents stated that they knew where to seek help and how to handle the situation if they or their loved ones suffered from a severe mental illness. Indeed, many people have misconceptions about mental illness, considering it to be an incurable condition or associating individuals with mental health needs with violent tendencies.”

Dr Chu continued, “We hope that media practitioners, when covering mental health issues or incidents, can refer to the Guidelines and strive for accurate, truthful, objective, and comprehensive reporting. Conjectures, assumptions or broad generalisations about the conditions of people with mental health needs and the causes of the incidents should be avoided. This would prevent the public from inappropriately associating mental health issues with violence. In addition, accurate and objective language instead of language with negative connotations should be used, while pictures or images that symbolise violence, associate with distress or depict scenes of despair and depression should be avoided to prevent stigmatisation of people with mental health needs or those in recovery. The media should also include as much positive information as possible to achieve balanced reporting. For example, people with mental health needs should be encouraged to seek help and information about support services and contact details of relevant organisations, such as hotline numbers, should be provided in the report.”

Joining today’s press conference were those who participated in drafting the Guidelines, namely ACMH member Ms Lily CHAN, Ms Vicky LEUNG Pui-ki, Mr Terry WONG Chung-bo and former member Ms YUEN Shuk-yan, as well as Professor Raymond LI, Member of the Executive Committee of Hong Kong Press Council and Head, Department of Journalism of the Hong Kong Baptist University. At the press conference, Professor Raymond Li provided practical suggestions and future directions for promoting positive media reporting, while Mr Terry Wong Chung-po and Ms Yuen Shuk-yan highlighted the importance of positive media reporting for the social integration of people in recovery from a rehabilitation perspective. Ms Lily Chan and Ms Vicky Leung Pui-ki also shared their expectations for media reporting from the perspectives of caregivers and individuals in mental health recovery respectively.

Ms Lam concluded, “The EOC urges the general public, news media and social media practitioners to embrace the principles outlined in the Guidelines. It is important to treat individuals with mental health needs and those in recovery with empathy, equality, respect and understanding. By providing objective and unbiased coverage of mental health issues or incidents, we can foster a caring and inclusive society and support the rehabilitation and integration of individuals with mental health needs into the community.”

The Guidelines have been uploaded to the EOC website and distributed to media organisations for their reference.

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Equal Opportunities Commission
7 June 2024

The EOC released a new Media Guidelines for Reporting on Mental Health Issues today (7 June May 2024). Dr Ferrick CHU Chung-man, Executive Director (Operations) (third from right); Professor Raymond LI, Head, Department of Journalism of the Hong Kong Baptist University (third from left); Members of the Advisory Committee on  Mental Health (ACMH), Ms Lily CHAN (far right) , Ms Vicky LEUNG Pui-ki (second from left) and Mr Terry WONG Chung-bo (second from right), and former ACMH Member Ms YUEN Shuk-yan (far left) introduce the content of the Guidelines at the press conference.