Citation

Leenaars AA. Health Hum. Rights 2003; 6(2): 128-149.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003, Harvard School of Public Health, François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights)

DOI

10.2307/4065433

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Suicide is lethal violence. The World Health Organization's recent report, World Report on Violence and Health, noted that suicide constitutes a serious public and mental health problem worldwide. The question posed in this article is, "Do people have a right to suicide and/or attempted suicide?" After a brief discussion of the world "suicide," an international perspective is offered as a way to answer the question and to offer views from a variety of countries. The history of suicide and contemporary perspectives on suicide are explicated. It is concluded that there is no universal answer to the question, but some commonalities exist that have an impact on issues of rights, such as treating suicide as a taboo, a crime, or a sin. A global response to suicide is needed so that suicide is not seen primarily as a crime, but as a multidimensional mental-health problem that can be reduced.

Language: en