To mark Mental Health Awareness Week, new measures in the Crime and Policing Bill will protect vulnerable people who are encouraged or assisted to self-harm
- New laws to protect vulnerable people at risk of self-harm
- Those who provide the tools for self-harm face up to 5 years behind bars, helping to cut crime and deliver the government's plan for change
- Perpetrators face prosecution even if no self-harm takes place
Vulnerable people who are encouraged or assisted to harm themselves will have greater protection under a new offence being introduced as part of the Crime and Policing Bill.
To mark Mental Health Awareness Week, the government is pushing ahead with vital new measures to further protect those at risk - with recent NHS data showing self-harm hospital admissions among young people have soared by a third.
The government is going further to strengthen safeguards - broadening the law to capture more malicious behaviour, bringing parity between the online and offline world and protect people who are at risk of suicide or self-harm.
The new laws will make it a criminal offence to directly assist someone to self-harm - such as giving someone a blade or sending them pills - whether it is done in person or online. This will build on existing laws that already prevent people encouraging or assisting suicide or self-harm through content online.
Minister for Victims and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), Alex Davies-Jones, said
The prevalence of serious self-harm, especially in young people, is hugely concerning. It is an awful truth that some people encourage or assist such behaviour, and one I wanted to draw attention to during Mental Health Awareness Week.
Whether encouragement is by communication, or more directly by assistance, the outcome is the same. We are determined that anybody intending to see others harm themselves is stopped and dealt with in the strongest way.
Under this broader offence, someone can also be prosecuted if their intention is to cause serious self-harm even when this does not result in injuries to the vulnerable person. Those found guilty face up to 5 years in prison.
Self-harm can occur at any age. A recent study on people aged 13 to 15 reported that prevalence was greater among girls (22.7%) than boys (8.5%).
There is also increasing evidence of links between internet usage and self-harm, with one study finding that, among self-harm hospital presentations, the prevalence of suicide and self-harm related internet use was 26% among children and adolescents.
Anybody struggling with self-harm or suicidal thoughts is urged to
