Decriminalizing Suicide Attempts: When Surviving Should Not Become a Crime

What if the person who survives a suicide attempt is not someone we should punish, but someone we should urgently help?

Imagine waking up in a hospital bed after surviving the worst moment of your life.

You are confused. You are frightened. You may be ashamed. You may not even understand how you got to that point.

Your family is standing around you. Doctors are trying to keep you alive.

And then instead of hearing, “You’re safe now. We are going to help you,”you hear that you may be treated as a criminal.

For someone already drowning in psychological pain, punishment can feel like another hand pushing them further underwater.

This is why the conversation around decriminalizing attempted suicide is very important.

It is not a conversation about making suicide acceptable.

It is a conversation about what society should do when someone reaches a point of such overwhelming distress that they attempt to end their own life.

Suicide is a public health issue, not simply a legal one

Suicide is one of the most serious public health challenges in the world.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than 720,000 people die by suicide every year, while for every suicide, there are many more attempts. A previous suicide attempt is also an important risk factor for future suicide.

Behind these numbers are human beings.

A student overwhelmed by academic pressure.

A parent crushed by financial hardship.

A young person struggling with rejection, abuse, or isolation.

Someone battling depression.

Someone experiencing unbearable grief.

Someone who simply reaches a moment when their emotional pain feels greater than their ability to cope.

Suicidal behavior is complex. The factors associated with it can be psychological, biological, social, economic, cultural, and environmental. WHO noted that suicide can also occur impulsively during moments of crisis.

Reducing such a complex human experience to a criminal offense risks missing the question that matters most:

“What happened to this person, and how do we stop them from reaching this point again?”

What happens when survival becomes a crime?

Criminalization can create another barrier between a person in crisis and the help they desperately need.

If someone believes that telling a doctor, family member, friend, or emergency responder about suicidal thoughts could lead to police involvement or prosecution, they may choose silence instead.

And silence can be deadly.

Stigma surrounding suicide already prevents many people from seeking help. WHO identifies stigma and taboo as significant obstacles to suicide prevention because they can discourage people from accessing the support they need.

Adding the threat of criminal punishment can make that barrier even higher.

The person who attempted suicide may become afraid to disclose what happened.

Families may become afraid to report an incident.

Healthcare workers may find themselves treating not only a medical emergency but also navigating the consequences of a criminal offense.

A society loses valuable opportunities to intervene early.

Nigeria’s laws are beginning to change

This conversation is particularly important in Nigeria.

Under Section 327 of the Criminal Code Act, attempted suicide has historically been treated as an offense punishable by imprisonment. A proposed amendment before the National Assembly sought to delete Section 327 and decriminalize attempted suicide.

The issue has continued to attract attention from mental-health professionals and policymakers.

In 2025, Nigerian psychiatrists Adegboyega Ogunwale and Tunde Masseyferguson Ojo argued in The Lancet Psychiatry for the decriminalization of attempted suicide in Nigeria.

The Federal Government has since moved further. In August 2026, the Federal Executive Council approved an amendment to the National Mental Health Act aimed at decriminalizing attempted suicide. The proposal is expected to proceed to the National Assembly for legislative action.

This is an important shift in perspective.

It suggests that Nigeria is increasingly recognizing that people experiencing suicidal behavior should be approached through a public-health and mental-health lens, rather than simply through punishment.

Decriminalization does not mean doing nothing

This is perhaps the most important distinction.

Decriminalization is not the same as normalization.

It does not mean society should ignore suicide attempts.

It means the response should be appropriate to the problem.

Someone who survives a suicide attempt may require emergency medical treatment, psychiatric assessment, psychological support, social intervention, family involvement, and continued follow-up.

They may need help identifying what triggered the crisis.

They may need help identifying what triggered the crisis.

They may need treatment for an underlying mental health condition.

They may need protection from an abusive environment.

They may need help navigating financial, relationship, occupational or social pressures.

Most importantly, they need to remain connected to people and services that can keep them alive.

The goal should not simply be to prevent someone from attempting suicide today, but to help them build a life in which they no longer feel death is their only escape.

But does decriminalization actually prevent suicide?

This question deserves an honest answer.

The evidence is not as simple as saying, “decriminalization automatically reduces suicide.”

A 2022 review examining countries that criminalized attempted suicide found no consistent evidence that criminalization produced lower suicide rates. The authors also noted that the available evidence remains insufficient to definitely establish whether criminalization itself is beneficial or harmful to population suicide rates.

However, other research highlights a very important concern; criminalization can contribute to stigma and discourage people from seeking help.

Research from Nepal, for example, found that perceptions of criminalization can discourage reporting and help-seeking and argued that decriminalization should be accompanied by public education, police sensitivity training and better awareness of suicide prevention.

In other words, changing the law is important ̶ but changing the system around the law is equally important.

We cannot decriminalize without building a safety net.

If Nigeria removes criminal penalties for attempted suicide, what comes next?

We need accessible mental-health services.

We need emergency pathways for people in suicidal crisis.

We need healthcare workers trained to assess and manage suicide risk.

We need affordable psychological and psychiatric care.

We need stronger community-based mental-health services.

We need responsible media coverage.

And we need families and communities that understand that suicidal behavior is not simply attention-seeking, weakness, wickedness or lack of faith.

It is a sign that someone is experiencing a level of distress that requires attention.

WHO recommends comprehensive suicide-prevention strategies that include evidence-based interventions, early identification and treatment, restricting access to highly lethal means, psychological support and responsible communication about suicide.

Perhaps we need to change the question

Instead of asking:

“What punishment does this person deserve?”

Perhaps we should ask:

“What pain brought this person here?”

Instead of:

“Why would they do this to their family?”

Ask:

“What were they carrying alone?”

Instead of:

“How would they be so selfish?”

Ask:

“How can we make sure they never have to face that level of despair without help again?”

These questions do not excuse suicide attempts.

They simply recognize something fundamental:

A person in crisis is still a person.

Their life has value even when they cannot see it.

Their future deserves protection when they cannot imagine one.

And surviving an attempt should open the door to treatment ̶ not another door to punishment.

Decriminalization is only the beginning.

Removing criminal penalties will not solve Nigeria’s suicide crisis on its own.

But it can send a powerful message:

If you are suicidal, you should be able to ask for help without fearing that your suffering will make you a criminal.

The law should create pathways to safety, not barriers to care.

A suicide attempt should trigger a conversation, an assessment, treatment and support.

It should make us ask what failed this person, and what we can do differently.

Because when someone survives an attempt, there is something incredibly important hidden inside that survival:

There is still an opportunity to intervene.

There is still an opportunity to listen.

There is still an opportunity to rebuild.

And perhaps our greatest responsibility is to make sure that the person who survived does not leave the hospital believing that surviving was their second mistake.

People in suicidal crisis do not need our punishment.

They need our protection, our compassion, and our commitment to keeping them alive.

References

1. World Health Organization. Suicide. 25 March 2025. WHO: Suicide Fact Sheet.
2. World Health Organization. Suicide: Questions and Answers. 31 August 2026. WHO: Suicide Q&A.
3. Lew B, Lester D, Mustapha Fl, et al. Decriminalizing suicide attempt in the 21st century: an examination of suicide rates in countries that penalize suicide, a critical review. BMC Psychiatry. 2022;22:424.
4. Ogunwale A, Ojo TM. Decriminalizing attempted suicide in Nigeria. The Lancet Psychiatry. 2025;12(3):170-172. doi:10.1016/S2215-0366(24)00372-9
5. Ochuku BK, Johnson NE, Osborn TL, et al. Centering decriminalization of suicide in low- and middle-income countries on effective suicide prevention strategies. Frontiers in Psychiatry. 2022.
6. Mishara BL, Weisstub DN. The legal status of suicide: A global review. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry. 2016;44:54-74.
7. National Assembly of Nigeria. A Bill for an Act to Amend the Criminal Code Act Cap C38 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 to Decriminalize the Offence of Attempted Suicide in Nigeria.
8. World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa. Nigeria strengthens mental health response using public health perspective.