Forensic aspects of suicide and self-harm

This meeting will address aspects of self-harm and suicide that will be of interest to various forensic practitioners.

Delegates will get to explore many aspects and contexts of self-harm and suicide risk, such as in custodial settings, changes in prevalence, differences across cultures, and self-harm in particular populations: victims of sexual assaults and in students and doctors.

Hear experiences and Coroner views when faced with a cluster of suicides in a specific area, and the effects on relatives by these tragedies.

Delegates will also examine how the internet plays a role in producing contagion in populations and how this can be combated.

Although the meeting features experts in this field, it is designed to provide ample space for questions and discussion so that participants have the opportunity to tailor this to their own areas of interest. It is held under the Chatham House Rule to promote this.

Topics include:

• The Coroner’s experience in dealing with a cluster of suicides, related in time and geography
• Experiences of relatives dealing with these tragic events will be outlined
• The evidence regarding how to assess and manage risks of suicide and self-harm in custodial settings, especially the police station
• The effects of the internet and peer groups in clusters of self-harm and suicide, how this has changed over time, and how it might be managed
• The issues around doctors and suicide and how this group can be best supported
• The links between sexual violence and self-harm, and how to manage this when it arises, in acute and longer-term settings
• Changes in the prevalence of self-harm and suicide across time and between cultures will be described and possible explanations considered