Restrict Access to Potentially Lethal Means
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An individual’s intention is only one factor in whether he or she attempts suicide. The availability and acceptability of various methods of self-harm and the attempter’s knowledge about how lethal different methods may be also play a role in the decision.
Limiting students’ access to sites, weapons, and agents that may facilitate their ability to harm themselves or others are all methods of means restriction. Specific efforts may include restricting access and/or erecting fences on roofs of buildings, replacing windows or restricting the size of window openings, restricting or denying access to chemicals like cyanide that are often found in laboratories, prohibiting guns on campus, and reducing consumption of alcohol and other drugs (e.g., enforcing underage drinking policies).
The specific setting of the campus can influence the type of means restriction needed, so each campus should do an “environmental scan” for potential access to lethal means. Colleges and universities wishing to conduct an environmental scan can find guidance on the website of the Means Matter Campaign, a national effort to reduce access to lethal means.
