I was sent to London to a media speed dating event on behalf of LifeSIGNS. Ask Charity has arranged for scores of charities to have the opportunity to quickly speak with dozens of glossy magazine journalists. This was a great opportunity for LifeSIGNS to raise awareness in the mass media about the subject of self-injury, and the speed dating rules made it a lot of fun for me too.

Penelope from Ask Charity had the room arranged in a big circle, and charity representatives sat around the circle, and journalists would join them, but only for four minutes before the whistle blows and all the journalists move around the circle by one seat.

I was set next to Susan from the International Pelvic Partnership and Josie from the Prostate Cancer Charity; Josie and I knew we’d be in for a tough time with some of the journalists, as not all women’s magazines are interested in male issues like prostate cancer and such difficult subjects as self-injury.

Sure enough, the ‘baby’ magazines had an obvious interest in Pelvic difficulties, as Susan explained to me that pregnancy can bring on severe pelvic troubles.

Several journalists showed an interest in the subject of self-injury, as they recognised that their readership base (of young or sometimes slightly older women) may well be affected by self-injury / self-harm. LifeSIGNS is keen to get our member’s stories heard, and you can ensure you hear about any ‘Media Opportunities’ by signing up to our Newsletter and the ‘Media Alert Team’ which is a separate mailing list we run specifically to request your help when the Media needs to know more about self-injury.

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