. Currently one person dies here this way every other day. And rather than preventing people from taking their own lives, this law against suicide may actually encourage it. That is because criminalizing suicide keeps desperate people from reaching for the help they need. May is Mental HealthAs one of the few clinical psychologists in Malawi, I have witnessed the penal code’s chilling effect. I once saw a young man for psychotherapy who denied he had tried to hang himself.
And these worries are well founded. For hospitals, reporting a suicide attempt to law enforcement is standard procedure. Last year, when one of my employees took an overdose, the private hospital that treated her told her to turn herself in to the police. I intervened and was able to spare her from possibly facing arrest, prosecution, a jail term, and a criminal record. But she too will be harmed by our law.
Suicide is a tragedy for families and communities and has long-lasting effects on the people left behind. Apart from the pain, many relatives are left with guilt and regret, and in Malawi, with the additional burden of lying about what happened. By forcing people to cover up the truth of their pain, this law, Criminal Code Chapter 21, Section 229 of the Malawi Penal Code does incalculable harm. So do similar laws in the other seven African nations. The threat of punishment keeps those with mental health problems in the shadows. This is one reason why
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