Facebook launches new Suicide Prevention tool

Social media giant Facebook has launched a new feature in the United Kingdom to offer support to its 'may be suicidal' users.

The Suicide Prevention tool was developed with support from a UK-based charity, Samaritans charity.



Users in the UK have been asked to flag and report any posts from friends or family that might be a matter of concern, following which the particular post will be reviewed by a special team formed by Facebook. The team will send out help options to those who seem to be struggling with life.

Help will be sent in the form of a message. When the person in question next logs in, a message will appear, "Hi, a friend thinks you might be going through something difficult and asked us to look at your recent post."

"Keeping the Facebook community safe is our most important responsibility," Facebook's safety policy manager in the UK, Julie de Bailliencourt, said.



"We worked with organisations including Samaritans to develop these tools, and one of the first things they told us was how much connecting with people who care can help those who are struggling to cope - whether offline or online," she added.

Further she said, "People use Facebook to connect with friends and family, and that's why we're evolving the support, resources and advice available to people who are in distress and their concerned friends and family members."

While the user will be given an option to talk to either a friend or a helpline worker, or be sent tips and support directly, Facebook has also kept an option for the users to be able to ignore the offers altogether.



Samaritans chief executive Ruth Sutherland said, "Social media is a great thing, it provides an outlet for many people and it's a great source of information and support," adding that "Samaritans welcomes Facebook's commitment to keeping their users safe in this environment."

This article originally appeared on The Telegraph