 "The pro-suicide website appears to be connected to at least 130 cases of deaths in the UK. Image used for representational purpose/Pixabay")
In December 2019, Brett, a 28-year-old, travelled from his home in Central England to Scotland. He had gone to meet a woman he had gotten in touch with on a website.
The pair rented an Airbnb. Then, they took their lives together.
The service Brett had used to find her was a pro-suicide website. The site has a members-only “partners thread” where people can make a post and look for someone to end their lives with, according to BBC.
Brett wasn’t necessarily the first one. But he wasn’t the last, either.
In 2023, a woman named Linda put up a post looking for a suicide partner. She contacted a man through the partners thread and met him at a hotel in East London. On July 1 last year, they consumed a toxic chemical and died together. The chemical waas promoted by the website.
In September 2023, Sarah– devastated by the loss of her sister Linda– also ended up on the website. She, too, died after ingesting the toxic chemical. Earlier, in March, it was found that more than 130 Britons may have committed suicide after using a chemical promoted by the site.
BBC quoted Linda and Sarah’s other sister, Helen Kite, as saying that “innocent victims seeking support are snared” by the forum, “unimpeded by the authorities”.
How the partners thread works
The partners thread on the pro-suicide website, which is small and based in US, not only encourages members to end their own lives, it also gives them instructions on how to go through with it.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsOn the members-only thread, users search for someone to die with them by posting their age, sex, location and preferred method of death.
BBC’s investigation found more than 5,000 posts on the thread. These weren’t limited to the UK and US. People from all over the world made the posts.
There were at least two cases where men had travelled abroad to meet and “assist” their suicide partners, young women, in going through with their act.
A hunting ground for predators
There is yet another disturbing aspect of the website and the partners thread. Vulnerable suicidal people, especially young women, have become easy targets for predators using this forum.
One such case of repeat offences is of 31-year-old Craig McInally. He had responded to multiple posts made by young women who were looking for someone to die with. McInally offered “advice and assistance” to them in committing the act.
In one case, he had persuaded a 25-year-old woman to come to his flat and “practise” suicide. When she got there, McInally repeatedly choked her such that she lost consciousness.
He was arrested at his home.
In our investigation we found that in the past two years some forum users had even travelled overseas to meet partners.
Obstacles in stopping the website
According to BBC, the previous Conservative government introduced the Online Safety Act in 2023. It was intended to empower the regulator, Ofcom, to take action against such websites. The new Labour administration has expressed its commitment to the new law and is determined to address online harm.
Meanwhile, Ofcom has acknowledged that due to the website’s small size and US-based location, legal action against it will be challenging.
Melanie Dawes, Ofcom’s chief executive, stated, “We informed [the website] that its actions were illegal and promoted suicide. Initially, they restricted access for UK users, but they have since reversed this decision.” Ofcom is currently seeking input on the best way to implement the law, and its enforcement powers will not be effective until the end of the year.