Decriminalising suicide: Saving lives, reducing stigma

This report is designed as a tool for campaigners and advocates seeking to decriminalise suicide. Today there is an historic opportunity to press for such reform in light of commitments by countries around the world to achieving the 17 SDGs, along with the targets of the WHO Mental Health Action Plan, and for most countries, their obligations under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Moreover, other countries have already decriminalised suicide so there are examples of how to do so successfully. This report surveys the countries where suicide is a criminal offence and explains what the repercussions are for someone who attempts suicide, and their friends and family. It looks at what the law says in each country and whether there are efforts to reform it.