Changing the Narrative on Suicide: What the 2025 World Suicide Prevention Day Theme Means for Persons with Disabilities

This year’s World Suicide Prevention Day asks us to “change the narrative on suicide”, to replace silence and shame with honest talk, compassion, and action. (World Health Organization) The scale of the problem is real: the World Health Organization estimates roughly 727,000 people died by suicide in 2021, with most lives lost in low- and middle-income countries. (World Health Organization) I write this as someone who survived several                                                           suicide crisis and as someone who has lost close friends and colleagues to suicide. Their faces and my own survival are why the words and the work matter so much.

Too often, suicide is treated as an individual failing or a private shame. For persons with disabilities, especially people with psychosocial disabilities and neurodivergent people (autistic people, people with ADHD, learning differences, and others), the danger is compounded by systems that exclude, silence, and punish. In Kenya in January 2025, the High Court moved us forward by ruling that criminalizing attempted suicide is unconstitutional; that decision recognizes what many advocates have said for years: people in crisis need care, not punishment. (The Guardian)

If we truly change the narrative, our work must focus on practical, proven actions that remove barriers and save lives. The WHO’s LIVE LIFE framework collects the interventions with the best evidence: limiting access to means, responsible media reporting, training gatekeepers, follow-up and support after attempts, and strengthening community support and health services. These are not abstract ideas, they work. (World Health Organization) Some interventions deserve special mention because they matter more where many people with disabilities live. Restricting access to highly hazardous pesticides, for example, cuts suicide deaths substantially in agricultural settings, a crucial point for rural Kenya and many African communities where pesticide self-poisoning is common. National bans and safer agricultural practices save lives. (World Health Organization)

But evidence and laws are not enough if the services and messages remain inaccessible. People with sensory disabilities, intellectual disabilities, psychosocial disabilities, and neurodivergent people face concrete obstacles when trying to get help:

Addressing these barriers requires specific, concrete steps. Health services and crisis systems must offer multiple, accessible channels (voice, text, chat, video), ensure sign-language interpretation and AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) supports, provide Easy-Read and pictorial materials, and make buildings physically accessible. Clinics should adopt sensory-friendly options and train staff in trauma-informed, rights-based care so that someone in crisis is met with respect and choice rather than contempt or coercion.

Community solutions are equally important. Peer support, people with lived experience trained to offer immediate, culturally sensitive help, is low cost and high impact. Gatekeeper training for teachers, religious and community leaders, community health volunteers and police can increase safe referrals. School and workplace policies that allow for flexible schedules, reasonable accommodation, and anti-harassment enforcement reduce the daily pressures that push people toward crisis.

We must also invest in follow-up. Simple, humane contact after a suicide attempt, a phone call, a message, or a home visit, dramatically lowers the chance of repeat attempts. Strengthening primary care to detect and support people early, and building community-based psychosocial programs, keep care close to where people live.

Data and accountability matter. Governments should collect disability-disaggregated data (using standardized tools) so we can see who is most affected and tailor responses. Money follows priorities: ring-fenced budgets for accessible crisis services, interpreter services, and peer networks make change real. Media and tech platforms play a role too. Responsible reporting that uses non-sensational, person-first language and always points to accessible help reduces contagion and encourages help-seeking. Digital platforms should design crisis prompts and help pages that work with screen readers, captions, and plain language.

Finally, people with lived experience must lead. Persons with psychosocial disabilities, neurodivergent people, and survivors should be compensated partners in policy, program design, training, and public campaigns. Inclusion must be ethical: informed consent, clear safety plans, and psychosocial support for those who share their stories. This is not just about Kenya or Africa, though context matters. In many countries where resources are scarce, the combination of means restriction, accessible crisis services, community supports, decriminalization, and inclusive design offers the clearest path to fewer deaths and more lives saved. I write this with urgency and with memory: of my own survival, and of those I lost. Changing the narrative means changing systems, law, health care, community response, media, and technology, so that people in crisis, including persons with disabilities, are met with dignity, real options, and timely help. If you run a service or make policy: start by listening to people with lived experience, make every channel accessible, fund peer support, and adopt the WHO evidence-based measures. If you are reading this and struggling, please reach out through text, chat, a trusted friend or a local support line. You are not alone.

Article By: Emmanuel Brian Mbuthia, Suicide Survivor, Mental Health and Disability Inclusion Advocate