Language alert - it's death by suicide, not committing suicide

Have you noticed something about recent media reports on suicides? Apart from the alarming rise of such reports, the language has changed. The reports no longer say a person "committed" suicide. Instead they say a person "died by suicide."

The change in language reflects the decriminalisation of suicide around the world. In India, the law changed in 2018 when the government notified the Mental Healthcare Act 2017 to say that suicide is longer a crime and that suicidal people need help and counselling, not punishment.

So a person does not "commit" suicide as they "commit" a crime. Instead we now use phrases like "took his/her own life" or "died by suicide".

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