Decriminalizing suicide

We examine whether decriminalization of suicide in India following the 2017 Mental Health Act corresponds with changes in suicide mortality overall and by level of state development. Our study utilizes counts of suicides from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) across 35 Indian states from 2001 to 2020. The exposure variable is a binary indicator for the decriminalization of suicide following 2018. We use fixed-effect Poisson regression models that include population offsets and adjust for time trends, literacy, gross state domestic product and infant mortality. We find no relation between decriminalization of suicides and overall suicide mortality (Incidence Rate Ratio (IRR): 1.037; 95% CI (0.510–2.107)). Stratification by level of state development shows that less developed states saw an increase in suicide mortality by 1.9 times following decriminalization, compared to prior years (IRR: 1.859; 95% CI (1.028–3.364)). Our findings thus indicate that decriminalization did not coincide with a decline in suicide mortality in the country, thereby highlighting the need for improved mental health infrastructure and support in India, especially in less developed states

Decriminalization · Environmental health · Mental health · Mental healthcare · Poison control · Poisson regression · Population · Psychiatry · Sociology · Suicide prevention · COVID-19 epidemiological studies · Demography · Health disparities and outcomes · Healthcare Systems and Reforms · Medicine · Psychology

• Decriminalizing suicide

  Open Access•Devoja Ganguli, Parvati Singh et al.•Cambridge Prisms Global Mental…•2025

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• Suicide mortality in India

  Open Access•Vikram Patel, Chinthanie Ramasundarahettige et al.•The Lancet•2012

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• The National Mental Health Survey of India (2016)

  Open Access•Gautham Melur Sukumar, Gopalkrishna Gururaj et al.•International Journal of Social…•2020

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• Centering decriminalization of suicide in low – and middle – income countries on effective suicide prevention strategies

  Open Access•Brenda Ochuku, Brenda K Ochuku et al.•Frontiers in Psychiatry•2022

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• Estimating patterns in the under-reporting of suicide deaths in India

  Vikas Arya, Andrew Page et al.•Journal of Epidemiology and…•2021

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• Decriminalizing suicide

  Open Access•Devoja Ganguli, Parvati Singh et al.•Cambridge Prisms Global Mental…•2025

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• Fixed-Effects Negative Binomial Regression Models

  Open Access•P D Allison, Richard P Waterman•Sociological Methodology•2002

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