One in four UK adults have thought about taking their own life and, on average, someone dies by suicide every 90 minutes.
While it's difficult to quantify exactly how many people are affected by those losses, research suggests that for every death by suicide, around 135 people are exposed and potentially impacted.
As part of its ongoing work to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health – and suicide in particular – The Royal Foundation, of which The Prince and Princess of Wales are founders and patrons, has worked with the British Standards Institution (BSI) and Hub of Hope by Chasing the Stigma to create a practical toolkit designed to help people have life-saving conversations across the sporting sector.
Sport is a powerful but often underused platform for suicide prevention, with almost 40 million UK adults taking part regularly. Whether you're an athlete, coach, volunteer, official or supporter, sport is woven into everyday life – from Saturday morning parkruns to watching football at the pub.
What is the On Your Side toolkit?
The On Your Side toolkit is a practical resource developed by The Royal Foundation, BSI and Hub of Hope – the UK's largest mental health support database – alongside mental health experts, academics and people with lived experience of suicide.
Focusing on three key areas – understanding suicide, how to have the conversation and taking action in your own setting – it aims to give people, whatever their role, the language, knowledge and confidence to help someone access support before they reach crisis point.
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One of the toolkit's central messages is about how we talk about suicide. Contrary to what many people believe, research shows that, when done calmly and sensitively, directly using the word 'suicide' is more helpful than vague language such as: 'You're not going to do something silly, are you?' or 'Are you having dark thoughts?'
One person passionate about raising awareness of this is rugby legend Rochelle 'Rocky' Clark MBE, who lost her father to suicide when she was just 11 years old. He was 43.
‘I didn't talk about my dad's suicide until about four years ago – it was just a lightbulb moment. Something changed, something made me go, actually, it's really important that you talk about this, that you aren't embarrassed about it,’ Rocky tells Women's Health.
‘We need to change people's thoughts and communication about suicide, and I feel my role is really important to help my dad's legacy shine on and make a difference.’
Despite losing her father at such a young age, Rocky says his influence is still with her every day.
‘The memories he gave to me are something I hold on to dearly. He's shaped me to be the person I am today – kind, having a laugh, being part of things, not being afraid to do things,’ she says.
‘He was a footballer, so I'm sad he never got to see me play rugby for England, but certainly his competitive edge lives on in The Rockstar.’
‘My role now is to make a song and dance about it [mental health and suicide], to encourage others to speak about it – to use my platform and make a difference, to help save a life, to start those difficult conversations and to help people feel seen, vulnerable and heard,’ says Rocky.
And that's exactly what On Your Side is designed to help others do.
‘It's to encourage people to feel more confident having those difficult conversations and to give them the tools to do so when it doesn't come naturally,’ she says.
You can watch Rocky in the On Your Side launch film – alongside several other familiar faces and voices – here.
How to access the On Your Side toolkit
Both individuals and organisations can download the toolkit from the On Your Side website.
As the document states: 'Suicide prevention is everyone's business, and everyone has a role to play.'
If you need urgent support, you can contact Samaritans free on 116 123 at any time, day or night, or chat with a volunteer online here.
Mental health charity Mind, which provides information and support, can also be contacted on 0300 123 3393.
Hannah Bradfield is a Senior Health and Fitness Writer for Women’s Health UK. An NCTJ-accredited journalist, Hannah graduated from Loughborough University with a BA in English and Sport Science and an MA in Media and Cultural Analysis. She has been covering sports, health and fitness for the last five years and has created content for outlets including BBC Sport, BBC Sounds, Runner’s World and Stylist. She especially enjoys interviewing those working within the community to improve access to sport, exercise and wellness. Hannah is a 2024 John Schofield Trust Fellow and was also named a 2022 Rising Star in Journalism by The Printing Charity. A keen runner, Hannah was firmly a sprinter growing up (also dabbling in long jump) but has since transitioned to longer-distance running. While 10K is her favoured race distance, she loves running or volunteering at parkrun every Saturday, followed, of course, by pastries. She’s always looking for fun new runs and races to do and brunch spots to try.
